California One Shots
by natatron
Summary: I love my OC California, so i decided to write my own assortment of one-shots about her life! I mean no offense by any of the stereotypes present. There will be drama, humor, pranks, and all that jazz. Let's see how this beach beauty deals with being a state in the one and only US of A!
1. Don't Trash the Meeting Room

Of all of the states, it can usually be agreed on that California is the most beautiful of all the female states.

Well, it really does make sense that she would win that title. Her golden blonde hair with its reddish tips seemed to glimmer in the sunlight, while her bangs barely reached her blue, gold specked eyes. Her usual attire showed off her perfect, magazine-worthy beach body with a forest green tube top and denim short-shorts.

She has one sister, Hawaii, and five brothers, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada. They all work for the same person. America. Together, they save their boss from multiple personality disorder and take some of the burden. Without the states, who knows how he would act. One day, a surfer, the next a cowboy, who knows?

Anyway, in their dysfunctional family, there are 50 states, plus America, and the territories. The nations in general have no idea that the states even exist. Although, the states do have a habit of sticking their noses where they don't belong, so that peace will not last to long.

* * *

In fact, one day, the world meeting had to be held in LA, California due to the normal meeting room in D.C. needing repairs. In Cali's eyes, this is a big deal, a great honor. She got up early, 9:30am, and straightened out the room. She set out vases, beautiful art, photography, and fancy furniture made of Redwood trees.  
About ten minutes into the meeting, Cali decided to drop by with some California grown oranges for the nations.

When she opened the door, the room was in a frenzy. England was trying to strangle America and France at the same time, Hungary was chasing after Prussia with her frying pan, and everyone else was having either a heated argument or a full out brawl. The once glamorous room was now in tatters.

This infuriated Cali, her wonderful meeting room and priceless art was now a wreck because of some stupid no-good nations.  
She tried to regain control over the pandemonium. She tried yelling, screaming, but no one could hear her over the ruckus. Finally, she decided enough was enough. She calmly strode over to the front of the room, and blew on a large brown whistle. The whistle made a shrill, high-pitched sound and it made everyone's ears pop.

While all the nations were trying to figure out what was going on to their ears, a large, brown, furry, California Grizzly bear waltzed into the room. The nations went silent as the intimidating bear padded up to where Cali was standing. Now, she had their attention. Softly, but with authority, she says

"So, these are the nations."

She scoffs, rolls her eyes and plants her hands on her hips. Then she shrugged and starts to pet Sacramento, the bear.

"This totes remind me of our meetings. Except you have less explosions"

The nations were still frozen in place, terrified by the large bear now snoring on the floor by their feet. Cali looked around at the dumbfounded countries and said,

"Well, are you losers gonna continue the meeting or what?"

Plopping down on the closest chair, which happened to be Romano's but he wasn't going to anger her with that beast at her side, Cali took out her phone and started typing away on it. The meeting slowly but surely started up again. If anyone started to argue a little too loudly or brutally, Cali cleared her throat loudly and Sacramento perked up his big furry head. That was the most peaceful they had ever been, and got the most done out of all the meetings ever held.

"AMERICAA!"

"Dude! I said I was sorry!"

"You are gonna get me a new set of redwood chairs or I'm gonna tell DC who brought the rocket launcher to that meeting!"

"No please! I'm sorry!"

"Shut up! Get out of my sight, dumb ass!"

All of the countries gained a new found fear and respect for the golden state that day.


	2. Love Triangle Misadventures

Texas and New York already had a lot to argue about, they really didn't need a really pretty girl added to the mix. California is very oblivious to the petty love triangle that she is entwined in.  
No matter how many menacing glares the boys receive from Arizona or talks with DC they have about maturity, they just don't want to give up.

"Hello?"

Says a dreary Cali who would usually would be shouting a joyous hello to whoever was calling, but it was 5 am and she usually got up at 10 or 11 if she could help it. Unfortunately, not all states live in the same time zone.

"Hey Cali! How are you? Is everything okay out west?"

Over in his favorite city, (New York, duh) New York himself was expecting her exclamation and was shocked that she sounded so depressed. Today was the day, he was gonna ask out Cali. He was gonna take America's advice on manning up and just ask her. No Texas to get in the way, no over protective older brothers to drag her away, just the two of them on the phone.

Back on the west coast, Cali wiped her eyes lazily

"No, I'm good. It's just pretty early here."

_Crap, she's right_. New York started to sweat nervously. He didn't consider the time change and he knows how late she likes to sleep. He chuckles a little and manages to squeak out

"Oh right! I'm such an idiot! Should I call you back later then?"

_Aw, poor Yorkie. He just wanted to talk and she was being so rude._

"No dude, it's fine really. What's up?"

New York was relieved. _So she wasn't mad, she almost sounded sorry._

"Well, um I was uh hoping that we could I mean, wanna go to-"

"Just a second Yorkie, got another call" Cali quickly put him on hold and switched the calls over.

"Hello?"

"Cali! I had a nightmare! Will you come over? I'm really scared!"

Little Hawaii was trembling with fear. Cali sighed and said back to her

"Oh honey, of course I will just give me a little bit okay? I love you"

"I love you too"

Switching back to New York, who had been biting his lip in anticipation, she told him apologetically,

"Sorry about that, what were you saying? Hawaii just asked me to come over so I got to go soon"

Feeling his heart shatter and fall a thousand miles, he shakily said back

"It's nothing. I was just gonna ask if you had seen New Jersey around. He took my beanie again, that jerk"

"I haven't seen him around recently, try asking Vermont or something. Well, I gotta go. See you around Yorkie! Give my love to Maine for me, will ya? Bye!"

With a sudden click and the monotone beep that followed, New York found himself in a rage.

Of course, something had to happen the day he mustered up the courage. Hawaii can just- wait. What if she was lying? What if that bastard Texas asked her out and she didn't want to hurt my feelings? I'm going to kill him!

While yelling every curse word in every language he knew, which was a lot, and kicking a few pigeons out of his way, he stomped back to his apartment. Taking a second to shrug on a lighter jacket, he grabbed the keys to his motorcycle. While he wasn't planning on taking a cross-country trip to punch Texas in the face this morning, it was needed to be done


	3. Little Flower

_Oh the pain. Rippling through her torso, almost tearing her in half. One explosion, then another. It didn't seem to stop. Cali? America? Will someone help me?_

_ Where is she? One second, I was walking down the coast to the harbor with my little sister and the next there is smoke everywhere and fire? Is that fire burning? Oh god, I can't breathe. Where is Hawaii?_ ~

"Cali?"

The word gets caught in my throat from my lungs being filled with ash. I feel arms being wrapped around my waist as I'm hoisted backwards, away from the bombing. I feel the pain spike up again as the arms yank my sides.

"Oh, no little one."

It's a cold harsh voice, defiantly not the one of my sister

"I'm afraid your sister isn't here. It's just me. Don't worry, you won't be in pain much longer. Aloha"

I recognize the Japanese accent and I feel a chill down my spine.

"No! NO!"

I scream and kick until he drops me. I run, and keep running until I see America. He has a malicious smile on his usually cheery face. He turns to me and says

"Oh Hawaii, you poor little girl. Looks like no one will help you. What? Did you think you were important? Why don't you just sink into the ocean where you belong"

He kicks me to the floor and walks away laughing at my pain as I writhe on the floor in pure agony.

* * *

_Well, that flight attendant really needs to OD on chill pills. Nobody told me I couldn't take a bear on board! Geez, America has been so strict about these airport regulations ever since New York called him day and night trying to bump up security. Of course he couldn't say no after that attack._

Taking a good twenty minutes to stretch out her arms and legs, she began her trek down to Hawaii's glamorous beach house on Honolulu.

* * *

Breathing hard from fright, Hawaii got up to answer the door. There stood her sister, in all her sunshine glory. Pulling each other into a right hug and going inside,tears began forming in Hawaii's eyes. Quickly, Cali pulled out a tissue from her overnight bag and wiped them away while rubbing her back soothingly.

"Well, my little flower,"

Hawaii was already 13 physically, but Cali, who was around 22 physically, still treated her like a little kid. Not that she minded too much.

"What do you say to some shave ice?"

Hawaii's eyes got wide in excitement and started to squeal as Cali got out the bowls and spoons. Hawaii and Cali, both tropical states, love shave ice. Cali made the best shave ice in the country, probably the world.

A good four to five bowls of lychee, pineapple, and strawberry shave ice later, Cali turned to her and said

"Okay, so what was this nightmare all about?"

Leading her to the couch, Cali took her hand and started to rub little circles in it.

"Well, you and I were going to the harbor, when the attack happened"

Cali nodded knowingly, she was in fact there that day when the harbor was bombed.

"Then you disappeared and I couldn't find you and then somebody grabbed me then I got away then I found America but then -"

"Whoa, slow down. Take deep breaths"

Before starting her story again, she did take a deep breath and this time she took more pauses

"America kicked me down and told me that nobody was going to help me. I was in a lot of pain and I was so scared"

Hawaii absentmindedly began to trace the jagged scar that stretches from her naval to her hips. Cali took her into a comforting hug and said

"You know that he would never do that. You're so precious to your whole family. Ohana mean family, and what does family mean?"

Giggling at the reference to one of her favorite movies, Hawaii replied

"Family means nobody gets left behind"


	4. The Ultimate Prank

_"Live fast die young, bad girls do it well"_

Cali sang to herself as she walked down from her giant beach house to the pier where she keeps her speedboat where America was waiting. It was April Fools day. Okay, maybe it was still March, but they were two hours away from midnight and Cali had an excellent prank in mind for her boss.  
The states usually avoid pranking each other because they really don't need or want another civil war. So, America got the majority of the pranks.

Cali was planning on pranking Nevada by switching all his liquor with apple juice, but that could wait until later.

Getting in her speedboat with America and revving the engine, she told America

"Dude, I bet you're wondering why I called you out here so late"

America nodded excitedly. He really wanted to see his whale friend again, and what better place than out on the ocean. Cali sped up the boat to as fast as it could go, laughing crazily while America held on for dear life.

"WELL,"

She had to shout over the sound of the ocean roaring past them

"I THOUGHT WE COULD TAKE A FIELD TRIP TO ALCATRAZ!"

America's eyes got wide at the thought of visiting the old, abandoned, jail. It was built to be inescapable, but on December 16, 1937, two men named Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe made it out. They filed down the bars on their cell window, climbed out, and was swept away by the strong currents of the surrounding ocean. They are officially listed as missing, but are presumed dead. Many others attempted to escape and got pretty far, but Cole and Roe were the only two that were never recaptured.

Pulling up to the side of the island were the prison stood, Cali suppressed a giggle. There were over 20 cameras stationed all around the island to document the prank. She had used her Hollywood affects training to make the prison seem extra spooky. Virginia, Kentucky, and New Mexico were all in on it. Hopefully they were ready because she and America hopped the fence to get in and sent the plan into action.

They were walking down the main corridor, surrounded on either side by metal bars that creaked and groaned whenever Cali pushed on them. Which was a lot because she got a kick out of how America's eyes got really wide and he yelped in fear. He was easily the most gullible person she knew. He always fell for her acting, it's not that her acting is bad it's just really over the top, whenever she needed to sucker him into something. Like to let her get that Disneyland tattoo.

* * *

Kentucky laughed evilly as he slipped his costume on. New Mexico elbowed him in the side, silently telling him to shut up as he pulled on his own outfit. Virginia scoffed at their childish antics while brushing off her uniform. They all had practiced with Cali earlier on how to act, scream, and walk. Virginia, though she would never admit it, was really excited to prank America. She was usually very dignified and did not settle for such low immaturity, but Cali was a smooth talker and got her involved anyway.

* * *

"America, I think I need to tell you something."

Everything was going perfectly. He was totes falling for the performance. While looking in the direction of where the most recent creak came from, he responded shakily

"Yeah, what's up dudette?"

He tried to smile as wide as he could, but he faltered when he stepped in a pool of murky water and jumped a few feet. It was all Cali could do to not fall over in laughter.

"Well, America, there is a superstition about your fallen enemies appearing to you in Alcatraz. The reason so many people tried to escape was because of how scared they were"

Complete and udder lie. They tried to escape cause they didn't want to be in jail, duh. Of course, America bought every word. He was now looking around rapidly, like he was expecting something to happen. Boy, did something happen. All thanks to the little pranksters.

There was a loud cry. A sharp one filled with pain and hurt. Wow, Virginia was really good at that. Cali must be a great teacher. America ran to where the scream was coming from as the clock struck 12 and the eery "bong" echoed through the empty halls.

There laying on the floor, was Virginia. Her chest was bound to fool him into thinking she was a man, and she was dressed in a British soldier uniform. She was covered in red dye and corn syrup and was wailing as loud as she could and still sound like a man. America froze and then slowly tried to back up, but bumped into Kentucky, who was decked out in a Confederate soldier uniform. He grabbed America's shoulders and shook them while yelling

"WHAT DID WE DO THAT WAS SO WRONG? YOU KILLED MY FAMILY!"

He then sank to the ground at America's feet who was yelling back

"IM SORRY DUDE IM SORRY SLAVERY IS BAD"

Kentucky clung to his legs as he tried to get away. Virginia said in her best British accent

"We only wanted the best for you. It it all your fault. Why could not have you just listened to your superiors?"

She then went limp as the "blood" pooled up around her body. America went pale as she said one last thing

"You were my favorite colony"

Her British accent really was impeccable. Probably a result of her upbringing around the Brits. Her likeness to England himself probably contributed to America's pure terror at her words.

Stepping over Kentucky gently, he sprinted out of the room, into a long corridor. At the end of said corridor, was a door covered in words in Spanish. As he got closer, he realized that the words translated to "Why me?" and "It was my land". Shakily opening the door revealed New Mexico, dressed in his soldier's uniform from the Mexican-American war. He was curled into a ball on the floor, his eyes wide while murmuring to himself

"¿Por qué yo?*"

Okay, now America was thoroughly scared. He screamed as high and as loud as one can, then turned to run but was confronted by Cali, who had worked some of her movie magic by quickly using her prosthetic to create a fake bullet wound in her head.

"But America, you lost the war. Hawaii and California are now Japan's"

She said it softly, and then crumpled to the floor. That was all America could take. He bolted out of the prison, and began swimming back to shore as fast as he could.

* * *

Cali got up from the floor and began to call out to the others

"Good job guys! He's gone! Did you see his face?"

Kentucky was laying on the floor, laughing his head off with Virginia who was still trying to wipe off the fake blood from her face. New Mexico, however, was worried.

"Are you sure he's okay? We brought back some pretty dark memories."

Cali rolled her eyes and told him

"That was the whole idea, idiot"

She didn't really understand the trauma she had caused. America spent the rest of the day holed up in his room, trying to forget what he saw. DC, poor guy, got the text from Cali about how it was a prank and had to break the news to him. He went ballistic, but overall was really impressed.

He never saw the YouTube video of the prank in action, though the other countries sure did. It is ultimately known as the best and most thorough prank ever pulled in America.

* * *

* Why me? in Spanish.


	5. War and Messy Breakups

_Okay. This is nothing. Just another day. It doesn't matter that he's here. He hasn't noticed you yet, don't worry. Just get out of there. Don't make eye contact._

"Cali? Is that you?"

_Crap. It's alright, turn to face him and talk._

"Oh, hey Florida! How have you been?"

Florida smiled his million-dollar smile and said

"I've been good. I'm better than when you last saw me anyway."

Cringing at the statement, Cali turned to Arizona

"Well Ari, I think I'm ready to go. What do you say?"

Arizona nodded, keeping his stoic expression as he glared at the Floridan.

Florida and Cali had dated from 1832 to 1862. The whole, civil war thing had defiantly complicated things. Florida had been the one who first seceded from America, and he wanted her to join him but Cali had sided with the Union. She had sent the most soldiers to help the Union than anybody which really pissed off Florida. That war had gotten really personal. Cali had helped America so much, with her gold supporting the Unions expenses. He had broken up with her after he found out how much she was actually doing in the war. He never bothered to even talk to her after that.

She was heart-broken and Arizona was the only one who knew how much she cared for the boy. He never forgave him for breaking his little sister's heart. All of Cali's brothers are very protective of their sister, with her being so oblivious to boys and whatnot.

Now, in this cafe, they were confronted with either telling him off or escaping. Cali obviously chose escaping, being the more cowardly state but Arizona was ready to whip out his bow and arrows in order to teach him a lesson.

Quickly grabbing Arizona, Cali made a beeline for the door. They had completely forgotten their lunch and really didn't care. Cali had tears streaking down her face as they got into Arizona's Jeep.

_I should hug her or something, she looks so sad. I've never been very good at comforting and stuff like that. Oh no she's crying. What do I do? What did America say to do in this situation? Right, tell a joke. What jokes do I know?_

"Hey Cali."

"Yes Ari?"

"What's a frog's favorite drink?"

There was an awkward silence. Cali didn't get that it was a joke because Arizona never tells jokes. He's not very comedic and usually doesn't like to talk to others if at all possible.

"Croaka Cola"

He said it weakly, Cali barely even caught the punchline at all. She began to laugh in pity at first but then that joke brought back memories of the summers the Western states spent at Lake Arrowhead and when they had a Bad Joke contest. Nevada had used that joke as his final move, but New Mexico still had won.

This little gesture was even more meaningful to Cali than Arizona had originally planned. She was hunched over in laughter as all the memories of the trips the gang would take. It made the brief yet painful encounter with her ex much more bearable. She didn't need him.

She had a family that really cared about her and that's all that she needed.


	6. Coffee Run

Ah, what a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and California is being stalked.

Well, stalked is such a strong word. In all reality she is being followed by three men as she goes about her daily business. So yeah, stalked.

The three men in question are Arizona, Texas, and New York. They all are bent on getting Cali away from the other two.

This is going to be good.

* * *

_First on the to-do list is... Starbucks! Of course. Can't go without it._

Hopping into her Nissan Leaf, she takes off to the magical coffee shop. Her Leaf is a small all-electrical car so a lot of the other drivers tend to doubt her car's ability.

She stops at the red light just in time to notice the muscular man in the big truck next to her take a look at her car and chuckle to himself. Cali glares at him until the light turns green. She slams down on the accelerator, leavening the monster truck, which stalled for a few minutes, in the dust.*

After zipping past the many gas stations, and laughing at the customers with their gas-guzzlers every time she did, she parks and walks into the café.

* * *

_This is the last time I'm gonna do this,_

Arizona thinks to himself.

_She is strong, hell she's stronger than me._

_She just can't understand when somebody is threatening her._

He sits down at a bench across from the Starbucks and pulls out a newspaper.

_Okay, she's just getting coffee. Nothing to worry about._

_Hold on, is that who I think it is?_

* * *

Texas maybe had possibly followed Cali to the store. It's just a possibility.

After waiting a few minutes, he strides into the shop after her.

* * *

_Kick the kickstand down, don't let your motorcycle fall over like it did last time,_

New York thought to himself. He had seen Cali's adorable red car on his way to her house and decided to tag-along.

_Wow, she looks great. She always looks great but she is just shimmering in the sun today. It's surprisingly warm here. It's snowing back in New York._

* * *

_Oh great now New York is here too. I need to get Cali away from those creeps before they can do anything._

Arizona stood up, folding the newspaper and then throwing it away. Cali had already ordered so it would be any second that she got her drink.

Stepping into the shop was a pleasant difference from the heat. It's air-conditioned which can win over the desert state any day.

_Good. She has her drink. Oh come on, the barista is still talking to her._

He yanks Cali away from the talkative employee and drags her to the door. Quickly pulling her out to her car, brushing past New York who is shocked to see them.  
Cali flips her hair over her shoulder, takes a sip of the concoction she just bought, and says to New York

"Hey Yorkie! Got to go, but I'll talk to you later, kay?"

Arizona practically pushes her into the driver's seat and then rushes into the passenger's seat while New York mumbles out a flustered

"Yeah, okay"

His cheeks are getting redder by the second. Arizona is disgusted, he's looking at her with such lust, gross. He wants to get her out of there.

"Drive"

"Geez Ari, okay"

* * *

While all this is happening, Texas walks out of the store with his coffee. New York sees him and stomps off angrily, climbs onto his bike, and calls out

"Stay away from her, redneck. Got it?"

"Not on your life you varmint.**"

* * *

*Based on true events. My dad owns a Leaf and one day a big truck decides to scoff at his car. Don't be fooled, electric cars are very fast just not for very long because it takes up a lot of energy really quickly

**Texas calls New York a varmint due to the large population of rodents in his city


	7. A New Comer Approaches

_Wow. He's incredible. Has he always looked this gorgeous? His hair is so luxurious, it is practically begging to be touched. His eyes are-_

Being shaken out of her daydream by Utah, Cali sits up and clears her throat.

"Sorry. What?"

Utah shakes his head and readjusts his black tie*.

"I was saying,"

Cali didn't hear the rest of his sentence. She had already gone back to dream land.

It was ten minutes before the meeting was supposed to start and all the states were chatting, arguing, fighting, or getting out of the war path of the fighters. Cali and Utah had started to talk a little, but when Cali spotted the state sitting across from her, she fell into a trance. He was the most handsome state she had ever seen.

Texas and New York had noticed the dreamy expression on Cali's face and instantly thought it was aimed at them. They began swooning in their seats with the actual target of Cali's affection sitting between them.

She licked her lips as her eyes glazed over and her mind entered a realm of true love and other girly crap.

* * *

The meeting went without a hitch. They discussed all the topics they needed to like the World War that's going on*, how to help our allies, and who our allies really are.

Only half the room needs repainting and the other half needs to be rebuilt completely. Not to shabby. (You put 50 teenagers with hundreds of years of grudges in a room together and see what happens)

Cali pushed past the crowd to get over to where Texas, New York, and the other state stood. Texas and New York both straightened up to address her as suave as they could.

She, on the other hand, shoved them out of the way. Accidentally using her super strength to send them hurtling to the floor. Not that she noticed. The other state smiled shyly at her and said

"Hello miss. It's nice to see you again."

_OMG he's adorbs. Totes a hottie._

She giggles and says back in a flirtatious tone

"Oregon, I haven't seen you in so long bro. The last time must've been like, 1850 right?"

Oregon has flashbacks of a stunningly beautiful girl panning for gold along the riverbanks during the gold rush. He had always wondered who that angel-like girl had been.

Let's be real here, he fell in love at first sight that day. He fell hard and still hasn't gotten back up. Not that he wants to.

Apprehensively, Oregon nods as a pink blush dawns on his round face. Cali may not be good at reading the mood like her boss, but she is good at flirting. She says to him

"So how would you like to come visit San Fransisco sometime?"

Oregon is taken aback by how upfront she is. He grins as wide as possible as Cali hands him a little slip of paper with her number scrawled on it.

"Just give me a call when you have some free time"

Using her "Girlish charms" as Arkansas would put it, she has him hook, line, and sinker.

By now Texas and New York have recovered from their fall and is terrified by the scene taking place before their very eyes. It's been a good hundred years or so since Cali and Florida had broken up and neither of them had even gone out with her on a date. Now, this nobody state has snatched her up.

Oregon, you might want to watch out.

Texas and New York don't take lightly to newcomers.

* * *

*This is during World War II but before Pearl Harbor


	8. Hair Day

The American family is probably the most bizarre you will ever come across. Cali has had to deal with insane instances basically all her life.

Of all the random things to happen to her, the most annoying is probably is Santa Ana Winds These winds are dry, warm, and always come along in the second week of January.

Whenever they do kick up, her hair is blown around. It doesn't matter how much hairspray she puts in or even if it's completely submerged in water, her hair is whipping around her face.

This leads to a lot of broken hair ties, smeared lip gloss, and split ends. This year, they are back and stronger than ever. She can't even lay down on her pillow without getting a mouthful of hair.

The only way to tame the beast that is the Santa Ana Winds is her secret weapon.

Her hair stylist. He is a hair wizard dabbling in make-overs and one of Cali's closest human friends. He's one of the few humans who actually know her true identity, he was hired by the president, so she shares all the juiciest gossip with him. She can vent to him about her stressful life as a state and he can stand there with his scissors nodding his head in understanding. He can somehow contain the rowdy winds that she herself cannot.

* * *

"Sebastian!"

"Oh, Angel! Honey, I've missed you!"

They both give each other a little peck on either cheek, a cute little custom they have.

Cali sits down on the plush couch as he circles her head.

"So I was thinking just a trim. Oh, and can you work your hair magic to stop the Santa Ana winds from messing up my perfect hair-dos?"

"Of course, darling! Anything you say!"

* * *

After a very difficult hair wash, Cali got situated in her hairdresser's seat. Sebastian went to his work, forcing Cali's hair to stop whipping about. The amount of product to just make the locks lay flat was enormous.

"So, Cali. Give me the details. What's up with the states recently?"

"Well Sebby, Montana is going out with Michigan and they are such a cute couple. Problem is, Idaho has this huge crush on Montana but he has no idea. Michigan and Idaho are like, besties so I don't wanna see their totally tubular friendship be ruined by boy drama. Anyway, Georgia and Florida are like kinda dating but not really and I'm kinda confused. Virginia doesn't approve of their relationship cause they're both guys so I think they might be keeping it on the down-low. North and South Dakota have both been trying to sneak into Canada the past week cause Uncle Mattie's kids invited them to go sledding or some snow thing but America won't let them go. It's totes unfair cause America is just jealous that his states would rather go to...idk some cold place, than stay here."

Sebastian was hired by the president not only because he is a top-notch hair dresser, but also because he can report back on all the state's lives after every appointment. She can't help that she really is a blabber-mouth

"Wow Sebby! That looks really good!"

Sebastian had finished his job and twirled the chair around so she could see herself. Her hair looked drop-dead gorgeous. Not that she expected anything less. Cali twirled a lock of it around her finger. It had the right balance of curly and wavy, just the way she liked it and the red tips had been touched up.

Cali smiled in satisfaction.

"You really out-did yourself, Sebby!"

Sebastian shrugged and then said with a flourish

"Your hair is so much fun and so amazing I can't help but go all out!"

Cali brushes the stray hairs off her shirt as she takes off the apron. She gives Sebastian a bear hug and struts over to the receptionist. She puts the expenses on the Presidential Tab, then saunters out of the hair salon.

Instantly, she is bombarded by paparazzi. Over the years, she has built up quite reputation with the press due to the whole "Best friends with all the hottest celebrities" thing. She pushes through them to her Nissan _(Suck it, Michigan! I drive what I want!) _and zips back to her beach house.

_Oh right. Paper work._

* * *

Am I dreaming or did 100 people really read my writing? Holy crap, thanks to everyone who bothers to read and review!


	9. Pacific Neighbor

It's totally America's fault for inviting them over without letting me know.

California had just installed a new speaker system, of course she's gonna use it! It has access to millions of songs in all sorts of languages, how exactly does one not blast music as loud as possible at anytime?

It was voice activated too. She had done that little tune-up herself. Cali may not look tech-savvy but she was the one behind home computers, Apple products, and Google for heavens sake!

"Peter?*"

"Yes, Miss California?"

Cali did a little victory dance. Her machine worked! It was rather impressive. Sleek, energy-efficient, and had all the bells and whistles. It can keep track of the groceries you need to buy, it can regulate temperature, wake you up in the morning, and (of course) play music.

She had a lot of trouble getting the voice to work right. It sounded garbled the first time she tried it and didn't say any of the pre-recorded messages she had programed into it.

Now, she has a one-of-a-kind computer that's all hers! She didn't need anybody's help!

"Play the song, "Chelsea Dagger" By The Fratellis*"

The song started without a hitch and Cali was thrilled. She begun to dance to the song and missed the knock at the door

* * *

"I'm sure Cali's just busy with something."

America halfheartedly shrugged to China and Japan who sighed and shook their heads. They then heard ear-splitting music and a loud whoop.

"Peter! Play "Burn" By Ellie Golding.**!"

The song changed to something a little quieter. Japan tried knocking on the door again, ringing the bell a few times as well but to no avail.

* * *

"Miss California?"

Cali stopped dancing and said to the AI

"Yes, Pete?"

"You have visitors"

Cali was shocked. She wasn't expecting anyone today.

_Unless today is Tuesday... _

_Crap! It's Tuesday!_

"Pause!"

She called out and the music stopped. She ran over to the door and pulled it open. Standing on her porch was America and Japan.

"Oh, hey guys. Come in."

Cali stepped back to let them in. After she had gotten them settled in the living room, Cali addressed the nations

"So what can I help you with?"

Japan was about to say something but was cut off by America

"He wanted to get to know you better to improve trade or something so I thought that you should give him a tour of San Francisco or something awesome like that!"

Japan nodded in agreement. California was flattered. It wasn't everyday that a very distinguished nation wanted a tour of your home.

California nodded in excitement and begun bouncing on the balls of her feet in sheer joy.

"That sounds great! We can go to Chinatown, The Golden Gate Bridge, ride the cable cars, Alca-"

America cut her off

"Yeah, dude. We get it."

Cali shrugged then grabbed Japan's hand and dragged him out to her Leaf. He smiled at the sight of the little red car he recognized to be Japanese.

"Let's go!"

* * *

"Hello?"

"Yo, Cali! It's America! How was the tour?"

"It went great! We like, spent a whole day just in Fisherman's Wharf and now we have plans to go to Anime-Con together in July!"

"That's great dude! Have you talked about trading yet?"

"Wait, what trading?"

* * *

Don't worry, I'll throw some other states in there soon. I have this really long complicated back story already typed out so just be patient.

Thanks everyone for your support! Reviews make my day!


	10. Statedom-day

_Happy Statedom-day to me._

It was September 9th. The day California became a state. It wasn't her official birthday, she was seventeen or so physically when she became a state, but it's still a reason to celebrate.

Climbing out of bed and flinging open the curtains, Cali begins singing to the birds in her Snow White voice. Oddly enough, the California valley Quails below flew up and into her room. They sat there in a line, perched on her vanity, waiting for further instructions.

She had picked up this "sing to birds and they listen" thing shortly after Disney made it's debut with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and she loved it. She could get her state bird (The valley quails) to do simple tasks for her like wash dishes or sweep the floor.

While belting a soothing tune, the quails got to work. Her house needed to be extra clean if she was going to host that party today. They picked up her laundry off the floor and threw it into the hamper, and other chores.

* * *

"Peter!"

The artificial intelligence booted up smoothly and said in his robotic voice

"Happy Statedom-day Miss California. How may I help you?"

"Could you play some jams, please?"

The music started up, and Cali recognized it to be "California Gurls" by Katy Perry. One of her favorites.

While singing along, Cali got ready for the day.

* * *

After a tango with the hairbrush (The quails had to help) Cali got dressed in her favorite outfit. She would wear her swim suit to the bonfire later, so for now she wore a comfortable orange tank top with pink stripes and a short denim skirt. She also plucked some Golden Poppies from her giant garden and stuck them behind her ear.

Taking a peak at herself in her full-body mirror, she gasped slightly. The last time she had Golden Poppies in her hair was 1848 when she discovered that small nugget of gold by the American River. That was the first step on her road to becoming a successful state. Something she would never forget.

It was around noon now, and the quails had taken their leave (but not without taking some bird seed from Cali's open palm as a thank you). The song changed to "Hotel California" by The Eagles. She began to sway back and forth to the soft acoustics of the opening but stopped when there was a knock on the door.

* * *

"CALI!"

Hawaii, full force, tackled the unsuspecting state, knocking her over. The volume of the song turned down as the sisters laughed together and got back up. Also at the door was Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, and Nevada. They each held a different color, size, and shape box along with their normal luggage. Her family walked in, set the gifts on her dining table, then went to raid the kitchen.

Cali rolled her eyes. Of course the first thing on her brother's minds would be food. Good thing she's always fully stocked.

"Cali! All you got is avocados, walnuts, figs, lemons, alfalfa, oranges, grapefruit, tomatoes, wheat, potatoes, rice,artichokes, garlic, onions, strawberries, grapes, dates, beans, squash, melons, soybeans, and spinach!"

New Mexico's voice piped up.

"What exactly is the problem with that Mex?"

Utah retorted.

"WHERE'S THE MEAT?!"

Cali shrugged

"I'm going vegetarian. You should try it."

New Mexico looked like he was going to pass out at the prospect of a meatless party but Nevada spoke out

"Well, she has some great wine and that's all that really matters, right?"

Arizona shook his head at the antics of his brothers. He was the one that always had to step up and be the mature one like when Nevada got drunk or when Utah was cramming the Book of Mormon down some unsuspecting person's throat. It had always been like that. He was the youngest of all his brothers yet he still was the one with the most sophistication. Hawaii of course is the youngest of everyone, but that's a given and she usually isolates herself from the rest of the states.

* * *

"Well, are we gonna go to Disneyland, or what?"

Colorado absolutely loves Disney, so it made sense for them to take a family trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. Cali had pulled a few strings and gotten all of them golden fast passes to boot. She's in pretty tight with the staff members there and can usually sweet-talk her way into the park for free.

"Yeah! Let's get going!"

Some of them got into Cali's Leaf, but the one's who wouldn't fit went with Arizona in his jeep.

Soon, they reached the park

(TO BE CONTINUED)

* * *

Whoa what? People are reading my story! Yay! Please review, it makes my day! This was the 10th one-shot special so I figured I'd do a birthday thing. This is going to be a long mini-series but I'll get back on track with the normal one-shots eventually. Just hang in there. You get to learn more about Cali's chibi-hood so really I'm doing you a favor.


	11. Insane Siblings

In retrospect, taking her insane brothers to Disneyland wasn't the best idea.

Nevada got all his booze taken away from him at the security gate, and sometimes sober Nevada is scarier that drunk Nevada.

Utah started complaining non-stop about how hot it was

Arizona made a five year old cry because of how intimidating he is, then tried to strangle a random guy who was checking out California

Hawaii sprinted away from the group the instant they made it past the gates, like the isolated sate she is

New Mexico ran directly to where Disney keeps the fireworks and begins stuffing them into his pockets before security showed up

Colorado disappeared for about a half an hour, then showed up again with around $300 worth of merchandise.

Cali had to solve all these problems of course.

She ran to California Adventure to buy a pint for Nevada, who drank it sloppily. She got Utah into an air-conditioned store where he happily strolled around. Then she pried Arizona off the poor park-goer and apologized in his place. Hawaii was (surprise surprise) at the ice cream stand and was plucked up by California before the cotton candy lady could send her to the "lost kid" station. Cali ended up paying a fine for New Mexico, but not before she sweet-talked the guards into letting him out of Disney jail*. She needed to return over half the stuff Colorado bought so DC wouldn't kill him when he saw the bill.

The trip ended before two-o'clock. The only thing that expedition did for Cali was piss her off.

Cali ended up getting back into her car, and driving away before her brothers could get it.

She didn't do it on accident either.

* * *

"You people are going to apologize to your big sister."

Arizona wasn't much good at lecturing, so he mumbled out this one sentence as a stern order and left it at that.

"It was all Utah's fault!"

"My fault?! How is it my fault?"

"It's your fault cause you we're the one who tried to sneak out the fireworks"

"No, that was me."

"Hey, why do I have to sit in New Mexico's lap?"

"Because you're the smallest, Hawaii"

This type of bickering continued for the whole drive back to Cali's mansion.

They all sat outside in the car for a while, nervous about how California would punish them. They did **not **want to face Cali's pickaxe that she wields with such a high level of skill, it made all the other miners back in the gold rush jealous. Hawaii was the one who opened the door and scooted off of New Mexico's lap.

* * *

_Well, what do I do now?_

Cali had just gotten home. She set down her purse and went to the cellar to pour herself a glass of wine. Wine always calmed her down.

After a few glasses, her head felt surprisingly clear. With her new found clarity, she suddenly remembered the beach party! It was going to start in a little less than an hour, and she didn't even have all the food ready!

* * *

_There. All done. Now I can go put on my swim suit._

Cali had put together a picnic for her ravenous family. They eat like they will never see food again, so she has over thirty pounds of just meat alone _(Yuck. New Mexico must have put that there) _She took out a piece of paper and a pencil to write out a quick message for her brothers and sister.

_Weird that they haven't gotten home yet. Knowing them, they probably got in a car crash._

The note said

_Meet me at the beach. I'm heading out now. See you there. Don't make me regret inviting you._

She signed it in her cursive writing and then set the note down on the counter. Grabbing her beach bag, and giving a quick look around the house to see if she forgot anything, she got in her Leaf and drove off. She just so happened to leave at the exact moment her siblings pulled in.

* * *

They rang the doorbell a few times before Utah straight-up kicked open the door. Arizona smacked him for damaging California's door when she was already angry at them but it did get them inside. They all edged in slowly, fearing their sister's wrath, but they soon noticed that she wasn't home. They spent a solid ten minutes searching the house before Colorado found the note. He read it aloud for the rest of the states. They all shared a look of confusion before the reality of the situation set in.

It started with Nevada letting out a quiet chuckle, which led to Hawaii giggling, then New Mexico joined in and soon all the states were laughing so hard their eyes were watering. Even Arizona, as stoic as he is, smiled and sighed gently.

"Of course. Only Cali would forgive us idiots so quickly."

Once they calmed down, they changed into their respective swim suits. Cali was waiting for them, after all and they had disappointed her enough for one day.

* * *

OH GREAT NOW IT'S A THREE-PARTER. Thanks for reading! Keep the reviews coming!


	12. Beach Party

The sun was just starting to set by the time all the guests had arrived. The beach had been reserved by Cali herself (She knows a guy) so no one had to hide their identity.

The East-coasters all sat on the burning sand, refusing to step foot in the freezing water. All the land-locked states, however, happily leaped about in the waves, relishing the salty water they so rarely get to enjoy.

America had a goofy 'Kiss the Cook' apron on and was grilling the meat Cali had brought. The southern and northern states had settled a few disputes left over from The Civil War through a cut-throat volleyball match. She may not look the athletic type, but Alabama sure can spike.

Everything was going perfectly.

Even New York and Texas had vowed momentary truce for one day.

(That didn't last for long after Texas dropped a crab down New York's swim trunks though.)

California had gotten a lot of presents that day. A new bikini from Maryland, a few iTunes gift cards, but Oregon had given her a mix-tape. It was a sappy, cheesy, move she had seen in movies but that didn't stop her from giving him a big hug anyway.

* * *

Montana lit up the big bonfire when the sun was barely visible anymore. Hawaii took out her ukulele and got everyone to sing the Star Spangled Banner together.

America didn't need **too** much convincing to belt out the high notes.

Cali and Tennessee got out their guitars and Georgia got out his fiddle. Guess what song they played.

"The Devil went down to Georgia, he was looking for a soul to steal,"

Virginia had fallen asleep on Vermont's shoulder, causing him to blush profusely and for Nebraska to cat-call at them.

They discussed world affairs, cracked jokes, told scary stories (Cali has a lot of horror movies memorized and it wasn't long until America was begging her to stop), and generally had a fun night.

Somewhere around 10pm, California put on her wetsuit and went out on the swell with Hawaii to teach Kansas to surf. She did surprisingly well, until a fish decided to nibble at Kansas's swimsuit and it untied. Cali had to give Kansas her wetsuit so she could go back on land, not that the boys minded seeing Cali in her bikini.

* * *

Cali sat on the beach chairs set up around the flame with her family, and she thinks to herself.

_I couldn't have asked for a better Statedom-day._

She looks up at the stars. The same stars that were looking down at her the day she became a state and her wacky adventure with her (sometimes) lovely family began.

There was that one time she and New Hampshire had a marathon of all the Star Wars movies, the time Wisconsin sent her that giant cheese care package so she could stop Cali from bragging about her dairy, and the time Tennessee had given her guitar lessons.

Her family stood by her, even if they weren't even really related.

* * *

Wyoming nudges her, and Cali notices that everyone is staring at her.

"Wait, what did I miss?"

The states all sigh in exasperation at the spacey girl and Wyoming tells her

"Well, we were just wondering about your childhood. You never really told us anything about it and America doesn't know that whole story. So, could you tell us?"

All the states eagerly nod at her with wide eyes like kinder-gardeners before story time.

Cali takes a deep breath and leans back in her chair.

"Alright then. I'll start at the beginning."

* * *

SIKE THIS IS A REALLY LONG CONTINUOUS STORY DEAL WITH IT. I do have a lot of chapters preplanned so if one of your suggestions doesn't come for a while it's because I already have a chapter coming up. Shout out to the heckler going as Michigan in the reviews, you crack me up. You just might get your own one-shot if you're not careful.


	13. Chibi-Cali

A long time ago, the explorers landed in what is now called America.

America held untold riches, fertile land, but only if you could get there and stick a flag in the ground before anyone else.

* * *

"No! Spaniards! Go home!"

Alta California, who was only about eight physically, was terrified. Her friend Aztec had disappeared a few days ago and now the conquistadors were claiming her land.

"Oh, Hola chica. Yo soy Antonio. What's your name?"

The strange tall man with the brown wavy hair and emerald eyes was talking to her?

_I don't want to disappear like Aztec did!_

"Go home! I do not want you here!"

With a swift kick to the man's shin, Cali sprinted off to her tree house in the Redwoods forest.

* * *

It's a quaint little hut with all the comforts of home. It has a soft little bed made of leaves and mulch, a tiny table made of branches and twine, and a make-shift window facing west.

She quickly scampered up the tall tree, a skill she had acquired over the years of climbing. The tall man limped over to the tree shouting

"Wait! I mean you no harm! Come down!"

He started to hack at the tree with his big battle but gaining little progress due to his injury slowing him down.

Cali, terrified at the prospect of him cutting down her tree, started throwing things down at him. Pine comes, pebbles, berries, anything she could find. Then she started chucking heavy rocks and one hit him square on the head.

He was instantly knocked to the floor, out cold.

* * *

"Dios mio."

Spain rubbed the sore spot on his head where the brick had hit him.

"¿Dónde estoy?*"

He was bound by his wrists and feet to a thick tree trunk suspended 10 feet above the forest floor.

_Was I captured by the no-good English again? _

"Go away!"

Suddenly a little acorn flew out of no where and hit him on the large bruise he had on his head.

"I not want you here! Leave me alone! Give me back Aztec!"

Spain recognized the little voice as the one he heard earlier. He called out softly

"Is this the chica pequeña from the forest? Where am I?"

A tiny foot stepped out from behind a tree to his left and it was in fact the little girl. She lobbed another acorn at him, but missed. It was kinda adorable. She reminded him of Lovi.

"You are in my land and need to be gone!"

She nodded to reinforce her point. He laughed meekly.

"Your land? It's no more your land than your land."

She shook her head rapidly, tears starting to show in her eyes.

"No! I'm Alta California and you killed by brother! I want Aztec back!"

_So this is Alta? She's a lot smaller than the others. _  
_I can't hurt this little girl, no matter how troublesome she is. _

"Oh, okay little one. How about you let me down and we can talk?"

Cali shook her head again and blew on a small hand carved whistle she had kept in her belt.  
Out of the bushes appeared a small brown bear. He was growling at Spain as he made his way to the little girl, who climbed onto his back.

"No! I will never let you down! Have fun up there with the buzzes!"

_Buzzes? _

Suddenly, Spain became aware of the hornet's nest next to his head as Cali flung another small rock at it. The hornets started to buzz loudly and some emerged from their nest to fly around Spain angrily.

_This little girl might be more than just troublesome_

* * *

This is part one of three of Cali's back story. It was pretty fun writing little chibi-cali. Please review, that's the thing that tells me you like the story and that I should keep going. Thank you!


	14. Exploration?

Eventually though, Spain, the charmer and top-notch babysitter, convinced (forced) Alta California to join his empire.

She spent her days on the beach and in the trees, farming oranges for her boss. He was so nice, protecting her from the other bad colonists and sending her lots of friends.

Alta grew up quickly, soon she looked to be about twelve. Her hair had gotten lighter due to the days out in the sun on the water. Her skin got a nice golden hue to it.

She really was rather beautiful.

Her most redeeming quality, some said, was her singing voice. When she sang to the birds, they joined in. Keeping perfect tempo and pitch to glorify her silky, soprano song.

* * *

It wasn't very long until she met Americans. She was climbing the trees along a river, the only one around for miles, when she ran into three very strange people.

Two of them were white men, dressed in strange animal skins and were carrying parchment. The other she recognized as a woman from a Native American tribe.

_What are they doing? Are they here to take me away from Spain?_

"Lewis! You got us lost again! We were just at this river!"

The man on the left whacked the other on the head and the woman shook her head in amusement.

"Are you lost?"

Alta hopped down from her hiding place in the tree. The men recoiled in shock, grabbing their muskets.

Alta stepped backward, preparing to flee, but the one called Lewis dropped his gun and instructed the other to follow.

"Hello miss. The name's Clark, and this is Lewis"

They both took a bow. Alta looked to the woman curiously so she said

"I am Sacajawea. Who are you?"

Alta nodded her head and responded quickly

"I am Alta. It is a nice to meet you"

Her sloppy English, caused Lewis and Clark to laugh at her. She glared at them.

_I usually don't need to speak that garbage language so it's not the best. _

"Why did you come here? This is Spanish land"

Clark pulled out the map and inspected it carefully.

"Really? We made a lot of progress, this is good."

Alta stiffened.

_What kind of progress are they talking about?_

She adjusted her mountain lion skin dress and said

"¿Qué es lo que quieres?" The men gave her a strange look and Alta realized she had slipped back into Spanish

"Oh, right. Garbage speakers."

They looked offended by her comment but she waved it off

"What is it you want?"

The two men said at the same time

"Exploration!"

They said it excitedly, like it was a game they were winning. Alta didn't know this word. She gave them a questioning look.

"What is that? Is it a game?"

Lewis chuckled

"Well, sort of. It's when we draw the land and what it looks like"

Alta shook her head

"Not doing that here. Go away"

She said it assertively and then turned away. She quickly pulled herself up the tree where her bear was sleeping. He had a habit of climbing up trees and nodding off up there.

She looked down to see the intruders continuing their trek across the riverbank.

_Another man who won't leave me alone. _

She flew among the branches as they walked along. She would drop small acorns on their heads (still her best tactic at getting people to go away) but they didn't notice.

_Those idiots! They are gonna walk right into that bear cave if they continue!_

Carefully, she leaps down to block their path and said sternly

"Turn back. This is not safe here"

They at first looked surprised that she had followed them, but quickly recovered and pushed her out of the way into the lake.

Alta's dress was soaked.

* * *

They still sent up a shelter in the cave but it wasn't long until-

"Run away, Clark! It's a bear!"

The two foolish men sprinted away from the mama bear's lair, leaving all their supplies behind. Alta, who was still ringing out her dress, only laughed at them.

_Now, no more white men will ever come back. _

* * *

I just couldn't resist putting some Lewis and Clark in there. Don't forget to review! Thank you! By the way, Editor wanted me to spell it Sacagawea but my computer wanted me to spell it Sacajawea, so I would appreciate anyone helping me to spell it right.


	15. Apart of the Family

Many years later, Mexico has declared independence from Spain, gaining control over California (who is still twelve or so physically) and some other boys she didn't know or want to know. The boys are loud with their guns and screams. They are fighting over something. Words on Spanish and the garbage-language she barely spoke, fly like bullets themselves.

_When can I come down from this tree? Mexico told me to wait here until he beat the bad man, but what if he needs my help? My bear and I have grown strong over the years. I think I'm gonna climb down now. _

* * *

"Yo! Mexico, dude! What's up man?"

Mexico sighs as the loud American saunters over the border like he owns the place-oh wait. Now he does.

_I lost, I lost everything. Texas, and- no. that's it. Texas. _

"Mexico?"

There, cowering behind a brick house brought to rubble, is Alta California.

_The bratty girl always liked Spain too much. She kept his customs even after I told her that we aren't apart of the Spanish empire anymore. Why couldn't America have taken her instead of my pride and joy? _

"I brought you some oranges and sea shells, sir. I know how much you like them."

_Oh, just go away Alta._

America noticed Alta, staring at him with wide eyes and he called out

"Hey dude! I'm America! Who are you?"

Alta bows, like she remembers the explorers doing and says politely

"Hello sir. I'm Alta California. Nice to meet you"

America laughed very loudly and said to Mexico

"Dude! Is this one yours? She's awesome!"

Mexico suddenly got an idea. It would rid him of the annoying brat and America would not attack him again.

"Do you want her? You can take her!"

Alta was appalled by how eager her boss was to just give her away. America, on the other hand, was thrilled. _Wow! A new territory! This is great! James* is gonna be super proud of me!_

"I'll take it-um-her!"

America and Mexico shake hands briefly and then America strolls over to Alta, who of course was terrified. America picks her up, and Alta calls out

"Mexico? Why did you do that?"

Mexico turns away from her and shrugs. Alta begins to struggle in America's tight grip. She is strong too, but no match for America. She begins wildly swinging her limbs and screaming at the top of her lungs for Mexico as America carries her away.

Tears begin streaming down her face as her screams turn to soft whimpers.

* * *

America doesn't have a lot of experience with taking care of little girls. He did raise the boy states like Delaware and Kentucky, but the girl states were usually looked after by the first lady. All he can do is wonder what he did wrong.

_Was it something I said? I thought states loved being apart of my country! _

He begins to pet Alta's long blonde hair soothingly and she eventually calms down. Soon, her head has drooped down onto his shoulder and she begins to snore softly.

"Well, let's get you to bed. I think we should change your name too. Kinda long. Alta doesn't sound American really either. How about...California? It has a nice ring to it."

Alta briefly awakes from her sound sleep long enough to give a little nod and then doze off again. America smiles sweetly. The sun was just starting to dip into the horizon and the sky was lit up with pinks, oranges, and blues. A soft breeze swept over the prairie, causing Alta's hair to flow gently to the side. Over the path leading to where he tied up his horse, a shooting star goes flying across the sky, topping off the magical moment that is always created when a state joins his family.

"California it is."

* * *

"Wow that was a really complicated and long story."

"You knocked out Spain like that? Wow, bad ass."

"I think Nevada is passed out"

"How do you remember all that?"

"Cali! Sacramento is eating my slice of cake!"

"Wait, there was a shooting star? I don't think that's exactly how it went, Cali"

* * *

There you have it, Chibi Cali! Now, back to the regular giggly one-shots! Please review, please oh please! I feel so bad about accidentally making chapter 12 and 13 the same (you should go re-read that part cause I fixed it!)


	16. Lili and Cali

California usually didn't get along with very many countries. She was pretty terrifying the first time she met them so most have stayed their distance.

The exception to this is Japan and Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is a sweet girl, a little younger than herself, and one of Cali's best friends.  
Most of the time Cali spends time with her family, or her neighbors, but once Liechtenstein spent the night at Cali's house.

* * *

"Lili?"

"Yes, big bruder?"

"Be careful here. The people are different in America. California especially."

Cali threw open her front door and quickly pulled in Liechtenstein and Switzerland. Arizona stood off to the side, keeping a watchful eye over them.

Arizona and Switzerland shared a look. A look that said "Touch my sister, and you die". While Switzerland took out his trusty gun, Arizona took out his bow and arrows.

They stood frozen for a moment, staring each other down.

Then they dropped their weapons and nodded at each other in understanding. If there's one thing they can respect is a fellow protective brother.

"I am Arizona. Who are you?"

"Switzerland. This is my little sister Liechtenstein."

Liechtenstein gives a small nod in agreement. Cali starts squealing

"OMG Lili! We're gonna have so much fun today!"

Cali grabs her hands and leads her upstairs

"Let me give you a tour of the place!"

Switzerland stood for a moment.

_Arizona seems to be trustworthy, but how will I know California can protect my little sister?_

Sacramento decides to wander in at this exact moment, stretching his back and paws, and then plopping down at Arizona's feet. Arizona bends down to scratch behind the bear's ears while Switzerland watches in fear. He had been there the day Cali hosted the meeting and was rather wary of the giant mammal. Then again, who wouldn't be?

Arizona stops petting the beast, when a loud bang is heard from upstairs. The two brothers sprint upstairs, fearing the worst.

* * *

When they do reach the room where the girls were, which happened to be Cali's bedroom, they see Cali clapping excitedly, Liechtenstein holding a smoking rifle, and a tin can on the floor with a large hole in it's side.

"Wow Lili! You were right! You're a really good shot!"

Liechtenstein smiles from the praise and says to the boys, still in shock from a deadly accurate Liechtenstein

"I hope I didn't scare you. I just wanted to try out Cali's Civil War rifle."

She hands it back to California, who hangs in back on the wall. Cali then grabs her hand and pulls her downstairs.

"We're gonna go out, kay?"

Arizona sighs, and then follows the rambunctious state to the living room where Cali was tracking down her other flip-flop.

"Where, exactly will you be going?"

Cali shrugs and says casually "I dunno. Someplace fun. See you later Arizona!"

* * *

Cali and Lili ended-up going to LA. Cali got them into behind the scenes at a big-shot movie to meet the stars. Lili may or may not have gotten Josh Hutcherson's autograph.

Then, they retired back to Cali's mansion to drink some Martinelli's Sparkling Cider and to prank call Mississippi. Mississippi of course knew instantly it was her and complained to DC. DC just shook his head and told Mississippi to get over it.

"So, Lili, how are things over in Europe?"

"Well, Cali, Europeans just love to fight each other so big bruder usually keeps me away from those psychos."

"Try living with over 20 insane brothers for a couple hundred years and you'll get front row seats for all the pandemonium."

They both could bond over certain things like crazy neighbors and protective brothers.

Lili doesn't have many friends, mostly because Switzerland won't let her make any, but Cali was too golden for even Vash to be refused anything.

* * *

"Truth!"

"Okay, who was your first love?"

Cali thought for a moment.

"Well, it would probably have to be Vermont. He is pretty suave, you'd be surprised."

_The girls had been giggling and talking for over an hour, how do they do that?_

Of course Vash had come to check up on his little sister.

And by check up, we mean stare at creepily from a bush.

_Well, this is going to where. She's going to be fine._

He would've left right there if not for the young man who walked up to Cali's door with a dozen Golden Poppies in his hands.

* * *

"Who was that at the door, Cali? Are those flowers?!"

They both started squealing like crazy, Lili knew all about Cali's crush on Oregon and this was a wonderful development. Cali sets them up in a vase, before plucking out a singular flower and picking off the petals while muttering

"He loves me, he loves me not.."

When she landed on "He loves me" they both erupted into a fit of giggles again and began talking excitedly rapidly about how romantic it was to give her her state flower as a romantic gesture.

* * *

_Well, okay it looks like California knew that man. He isn't a threat, don't worry yourself._

Brushing leaves off his coat, Vash starts to head back to his car that's parked down the street.

However, he's pulled up short when he hears a loud, deafening screech.

Instantly, he switches over into over-protective mode and sprints back to the house. He pulls open the door to see Arizona already standing there and the girls laughing so hard they're hunched over.

Cali says to Lili

"Told you that would work! I knew Arizona would come running if he thought I was in trouble. Apparently it works on your brother too."

Switzerland and Arizona both blush in embarrassment.

Arizona says sternly to the two of them

"You shouldn't do that! What if someone else heard you? What if the next time you're actually in trouble and I think you're joking again?"

Cali catches her breath and then give Arizona a noggie.

_Obviously, she's much stronger than she looks._

"**I'm** the older one remember?** I** should be watching over you, not the other way around. Do you really think that if trouble came up, I couldn't defend myself? Who was the one who stopped Japan in his tracks before he got past the West coast?"

Arizona, who cannot stop Cali from ruffling his black hair, sighs in defeat. Cali giggles and releases her brother, who tries to smooth out his hair, and then turns to Vash

"Look, you're sister is pretty hardcore. She can protect herself, so just relax. No country got strong from letting others do their work for them."

Vash sighs too and turns to the door.

"Just be careful. Call me if you need anything."

* * *

Yay! Cali has a buddy! I have been dying to do a chapter like this for a long time now. Review please!


	17. Apple

**October 5th, 2011**

* * *

Cali woke-up with that sinking feeling in her stomach that she had heard about from America. He had gathered up all the states and told them that if they ever had this hole inside them like their heart was aching, it means tragedy is coming.

She dismissed it as a small tremor around the fault line, but she usually get a small jab of pain when the San Andres fault acts up.

Slowly, she gets ready for the state meeting in her hotel room in Tennessee. Like the nations, the states hold monthly meetings and alternate who is hosting it and it happened to be taking place in Tennessee that day.

Colorado knocked on her door and said

"Cali! I'll be in the lobby. Come down when you're ready."

Cali calls out an okay and then puts the finishing touches on her simple make-up routine.

The devastation in her has only grown since she got up and she was tempted to call Jerry Brown (Her governor) to see what was happening, but was interrupted by Nevada pounding on the door yelling for her to hurry up. She drops her iPhone in her Juicy purse and shrugs off her paranoia.

* * *

"Indiana! You better shut you're stupid face before I punch it!"

"Kentucky, you can't bully me into being quiet this time!"

"Guys, why don't we just -"

"Shut up Illinois!"

Tennessee sits down in her chair in exasperation at her neighbors bickering. It is practically impossible to stop these fights once they get started, so all she can do is wait for them to either be pulled apart by a stronger state *coughAlaskacough* or for them to run out of insults to hurl at each other.

Cali is zoning out in her seat next to Arkansas and Colorado. Suddenly, her phone goes off and she is jolted back to reality. Everyone is staring at her by the time she can get her phone out of her purse and quickly excuse herself.

* * *

The silence is short lived however because Ohio calls Michigan a "dirty Wolverine lover*" and all the arguments pick back up. Washington and Oregon were poking each other harshly while murmuring little insults like "Stoned Lumberjack" or " Rainy Apple-addict"

Cali stumbles back into the room after wiping the tears from her eyes.

_I guess, I was right about a tragedy. I never even got to meet him and he was my hero. He will never know how much he inspired me to make my own technology._

Texas and New York look up from their fist-fight long enough to notice Cali trying to hide her tears. New York was going to walk up to her and comfort her, but then Texas called York a city-slicker and they fell back into their usual routine.

* * *

Cali puts her head down on the table so she can cry without being noticed, but Washington looks over and says

"This airhead over here is only helping the world stereotype us West-coasters as bimbos! Have you even **tried** to improve your educational system lately? Or were you too busy filming porn?"

Cali slowly raises her head from the table, and Washington notices her puffy eyes and is taken back by the sudden choked sobs. Cali starts bawling, very loudly. Now she has everyone's attention. Normally, Cali is very bright, optimistic, and can brush off insults like it was nothing.

Washington walks over to her and puts her hand on Cali's shoulder and says gently

"California, you know I didn't mean it. I'm just upset because the Cougars just lost."

Cali shakes her head and says in a shaky voice

"No, Washington, it's not that. I'm just a little tired today."

Arizona pulls Washington's hand off of Cali's shoulder and tells her

"We know that's not what's wrong. You can tell us. We're here for you."

By now, Cali's brothers have all crowded around her to shield her from any other states that might want to ridicule her for being weak, something they did a lot. Hawaii, was standing next to Alaska whispering in her ear about how California is never sad. Alaska can get out of touch with the other states so Hawaii had to keep her up to date on all the new drama.

Cali sighs, then sits back down. She straightens up in her chair, and crosses her arms. She looks around at all the stunned states and says pointedly

"Well, if you must know, Steve Jobs has...he...passed away. He had cancer and he just...died. Today. Stop looking at me like that!"

She was extremely pissed off and all the states were wary of the murderous look she had on her face. Half of the states didn't even know who Steve Jobs was and the other half wasn't very influenced by him. California pulled out her iPhone and then began crying again. Nobody said a word.

DC cleared his throat

"Well, I'm very sorry Cali but we have a meeting to conduct here."

He shuffled the papers in his hand and then began droning on about the National Debt and crime rate.

* * *

Cali weakly smiled at John Lasseter* and Laurene Jobs as they both said their speeches about the great man. California had been invited to a private memorial service at Stanford University. Jerry had declared October 16 "Steve Jobs Day" and Cali gladly excepted the new holiday.

"I would like you to know that I had known Steve, but only briefly. He told me that I was a brilliant mind, that I had the capabilities to do great things. He is the reason I am an inventor myself."

She gave Laurene a long, comforting hug. It was her job to be there for her citizens when tragedy struck.

No death is small, no tragedy unimportant, that California wouldn't give you a hug.

* * *

Aw he was Cali's hero. Don't worry, the funny is on the way! Please review! *John Lassater is the chief creative officer at Pixar and Disney


	18. Opposite Sides of the Nation

_Oh god. Whose idea was it to combine champagne and wine?_

_Right. It was mine._

Cali lifts her head from the grassy field she passed out in.

She threw an Oscars party yesterday, and of course she got wasted with Leonardo DiCaprio. He was so sad about not winning, he drank almost all of her good wine.

Now, out in the middle of a nowhere with a pounding headache, there is nobody around.

_Where am I? _

Luckily, she has her purse with her and can brush her hair to look at least a little presentable. Her cocktail dress, however is torn and dirty from her sleeping in the grass. There seems to be a lake nearby.

_Well, I might as well wash myself while I'm alone._

As she strips off her filthy dress leaving on only her underwear and steps into the lake, a pick-up truck on the other side of the pulls up.

* * *

"Hey North?"

"Yeah?"

"Is there someone in the water?"

North and South Carolina both love to fish in Lake Moultrie in South's state. Together, once a week or so, they drive out and fish for Blue back-Herring.

The twins are practically identical. They both have America's blonde hair, and England's green eyes, the only main difference being that North is a boy and South is a girl. Otherwise, they're practically the same.

North leans over the edge of the boat. He is worried for three reasons, if there is a human then they would have to hide their identity, the person might be hurt or in trouble, and they might scare away the fish.

He takes a moment to stare at the yellow hair bobbing in the murky water.

"I think that's be Cali. Who else has hair that bright?"

He plops down to check his line while South stares at him incredulously.

"Well, are we gonna go talk to her?"

North sighs and starts up the engine. He steers them over to where California is and calls out,

"You alright over there?"

Cali whips her head around with a scared expression that relaxes when she recognizes them. She smiles and starts to rise out of the water, but then remembers she's topless and jerks back down

"Hi Carolinas! I'm fine, I just taking a swim!"

She laughs nervously before sinking further down in the water. North Carolina's eyes are wide, as he stares at what's visible of her chest. South looks at the small nosebleed her brother was starting to get and sighs.

"You decided to come all the way out here to swim? Aren't you right next to an ocean?"

Cali sighs, letting her shoulders droop and tells them

"Okay, the truth is I threw a party last night and woke up here."

South is fully aware of California's "wild parties". She looks at California gently and says

"How about we get you some clean clothes? You can stay the day with us,"

She looks over at North who is now wiping his nose, and shakes her head

"Well, you can stay with me."

* * *

It was a few hours before the girls had managed to get all the knots out of Cali's hair. Cali had been strangely quiet the whole time. Not that South Carolina minded. She liked to stay out of loud clashes if possible.

"Thanks for the tea. You definitely were an English colony."

South chuckles and shrugs

"It's just how I show hospitality*."

Cali sips the tea politely. She doesn't have the heart to tell her that she hates tea. It's not bad tea, she just can't handle bitter things.

They spend the whole day together, just a calm trip of seeing some historical sights and shopping. Cali never really liked to spend time with the states on the East Coast because of the awful feud they have.

* * *

"I know sir, I'm sorry. Yes, yes, I know. I understand sir, yes. Alright. Aw but I- okay. Yes sir. Bye sir"

Cali hangs up the phone and rubs her temples. Jerry was flipping out in her absence

_Who is the governor here? Isn't it your job to run the state? _

She sits down on the bed South Carolina offered her and lays back slowly. She closes her eyes and her last thought before falling asleep is

_It was worth it to get to know South Carolina._

* * *

Yay! Now she is making friends! I am straight-out throwing fluff in your face. I love fluff! Please review!

*Tea is South Carolina's state drink of hospitality.


	19. The Musical Curse

CAUTION: Rather bad language! I do not own any of these songs, nor Hetalia. Just my OCs. Okay, you've been warned.

* * *

The meeting was going rather well. It was taking place in DC, so of course everyone was on their best behavior. DC calls a ten minute break, and some states start to chat.

Virginia was on edge. California was talking to West Virginia about Gay Marriage. Ever since Cali had legalized it in her state, she has been trying to convince others to do the same. Virginia's blood boiled at the thought of the beach ball tramp sweet-talking her brother into changing his laws.

_Look at her. She's twirling her hair around her finger, how sick. How dare she flirt with him just to get what she wants. _

In reality, Cali is actually trying to tell him about constitutional rights, she just plays with her hair out of habit.

Virginia stomps over to the two of them.

"Oh hey Virginia! I was talking to West about-"

"Never flirt with my brother."

California is startled by Virginia's harsh tone. Virginia is a very polite young lady, but now she's dragging West away very roughly by the ear.

"I was flirting with him?"

Now that she thinks about it, he was just kinda staring at her dreamily and nodding while she spoke.

* * *

"Virginia! You don't have to interrupt like that! I didn't mind that she was flirting with me!"

"Well, that avocado-head needs to stay away from you."

Virginia takes out her magic wand and points it at California, who was still trying to figure out how much West had heard of her well prepared speech, then says a spell.

California hunches over in pain

_Geez, wtf? I thought I was done with these last week!_

She clutches her head and tries to speak, but nothing comes out.

Virginia stows her wand and nods her head.

"There. Now let's see her talk to anyone."

"What did you do?"

"I cursed her. Took away her voice. Oh, don't worry. It'll come back in a week or so. That's long enough for her to learn her lesson."

Cali stands up straight as though someone had pulled her up by the head and then belts out

"**We had a hell of a ride, but you thought we were riding to heaven"**

She slaps her hand over her mouth, but know she has everyone's attention (again, wow Cali) She smiles meekly behind her hand, but then her mouth opens and she's singing again

"**Well, I motherfucking lied, So crank that funky shit to eleven"**

Virginia cringes at the language and thinks to herself

_Oh no, I did the wrong curse didn't I. Never use one of England's spells, they always mess something up._

Cali is trying to suppress the lyrics trying to claw their way out of her mouth, and soon she can't hold it back

" **Photosynthetical, I want 'em botanical, and I'm kind of theoretical, quantum mechanical.  
Alphabetical, a word puritanical, not a hypothetical, I rule tyrannical. Tyrannical-saurus-rex.  
Fuck the system, solar plexus, A lone star Texas, yeah ,too smart to be sexist, hey"**

Texas is very confused after hearing that last line, and tries to stop her but she just keeps rapping

"**Slow it down; the shit's too quick, Fuck it. Stick with it, The kid is too sick to quit. Haters: suck my dick. Handle the candle, lick the wick. No, stop. Better than that. C'mon, "mail" definition, there's a letter in that, Spell "male" then repeat the second letter in that, AA if you got a girl, let her in that.  
**

She is now attempting to tape her mouth shut but a new song comes up before she can stop it

"**Sun's going down let's get together, on the bridge we'll meet up tonight. Black pants, red sweatshirt and brown bags, above the East River's northern lights"**

New York is now paying attention. Cali has taped her mouth shut, but that doesn't stop the garbled words from leaking out from time to time

Louisiana speaks up

"Okay, what just happened?"

West looks at Virginia expectantly. Virginia clears her throat and announces

"I think I may have cursed her with speaking only in song lyrics."

Cali's eyes get wide as she continues on with the song, unwillingly.

"**You see what I see, I thought it make believe. Watched the sun rise on my street. Old cement makes for a solid place to lay. Bed of light gray, my bed of light gray"**

DC gets out his big roll of tape he saves for the really big-mouthed states, and winds it around her head, ignoring her protests. She sits in her chair, mouth slightly moving every now and then, a little muffled sound getting out, but now they can talk without being interrupted.

DC shuffles the papers in his hands

"Now, let's get down to business"

Arkansas's eyes are wide as he says

"We're just gonna leave her like that?!"

Michigan shrugs

"I kinda like it. She's finally shut up after all these years."

Arizona glares at her, but says nothing.

* * *

After getting through only half of the topics they needed to discuss, Cali decides she's had enough and rips off the tape. Surprisingly, no music comes out.

DC clears his throat

"Well, there's one more problem we've solved."

Cali still hasn't said anything, but when Georgia announces that he and Florida are dating, much to the Sunshine State's embarrassment, she leaps up and bursts out singing

"**Omigod!Omigod you guys, looks like Elle's gonna win the prize. If there ever was a perfect couple this one qualifies. Omigod you guys! Omigod this is happening, our own homecoming Queen and King. Finally she'll be trying on a huge engagement for size, omigod you guys!  
Omigod!"**

She catches herself and sits back down. She clamps the forgotten tape back over her mouth, and crosses her arms.

Florida and Georgia share a look, but leave it at that.

* * *

The meeting has ended, but Cali is still glaring daggers at Virginia, who is trying to duck slowly out of the room and high-tail it to her car.

However, DC picks up both states by the scruffs of their necks like they were kittens (Hey, America's not the only strong one) and carries them out to his car. They both sit in the back calmly, though Cali is thinking about strangling Virginia. DC pulls out of the parking lot, and takes off to the White House, where America was. DC says to them

"Now, tell me exactly what happened."

"Well, this one over here,"

Virginia gestures to California

"Was flirting with my brother so he would change his laws, so I decided to take away her voice for a little bit. Unfortunately, I used one of Britain's spells and this happened."

Cali takes the tape off, furious, takes a few deep breaths, and is about to replace it when she starts singing again.

**"Got you where you wanna go if you know what i mean. ****Got a ride that smoother than a limousine. ****Can you handle the curves? Can you run all the lights?****If you can, baby boy then we can go all night**. **Cos I'm 0 to 60 in three point five. ****Baby you got the keys-**

** Now shut up and drive, drive, drive, drive**. **Shut up and drive****, drive, drive, drive"**

The song suddenly stops, leaving the car in stunned silence. They drive the rest of the way to the White House without saying another word, not wanting Cali to have another outburst and also kinda scared of the extremely pissed-off girl.

* * *

"Yo! DC! My man! You brought Virginia and- why does Cali have tape over her mouth? I know she's talkative, but come on."

Cali stomps in outrage, unable to do anything else, while DC explains.

"...and we think the songs come on conditionally."

"Wait, so if I say a song title, she'll start singing it?"

"Sir, I-"

"LAST RESORT!"

America rips off the tape and Cali bursts out into another song

**"CUT MY LIFE INTO PIECES. ****THIS IS MY LAST RESORT. SUFFOCATION, NO BREATHING, DON'T GIVE A FUCK IF I CUT MY ARMS BLEEDING****!"**

She had belted this out very loudly, startling multiple politicians that happened to be walking by. America starts laughing, amused by this new development, and says another title

"Ice ice baby!"

Cali has dropped her head in shame when she starts to sing this song

**"All right, collaborate and listen. ****Ice is back with my brand new invention. ****Something grabs a hold of me tightly ****,flow like a harpoon daily and nightly. ****Will it ever stop? Yo – I don't know. ****Turn off the lights and I'll glow. ****To the extreme I rock a mic like a vandal****, light up a stage and wax a chump like a candle."**

DC repositions the tape over Cali's mouth, much to her relief, then smacks America.

"I came here so you could call for Britain's help, not play with the California-Jukebox!"

America sighs and walks to the president's office, with DC, Cali, and Virginia in tow.

* * *

"Iggy! I need to ask a favor! Well, one of my states accidentally cursed my other state so I need you to come fix it with your magic mumbo jumbo! Okay, fine, I won't call it mumbo jumbo. Yeah, sure. Okay, see you in a little bit! Later!"

America hangs up the phone as the President walks into the room. He looks around at all the people gathered in his office.

Then, he swiftly turns on his heel and heads to lunch. _No need to get tangled up in the drama. Been there, done that._

* * *

"Whoa Iggy! That was fast!"

California tries to say 'That's what she said' but then remembers her predicament, and goes back to moping.

DC shakes England's hand very briskly with a curt nod, and then steps back

"Thank you for coming at such short notice"

England gives him a small smile in return, and then looks over at Cali

"So what happened, love?"

Cali looks at him in disbelief, then gestures to the Duct Tape still covering her mouth. Virginia says on her behalf

"I tried to take away her voice but, since I used one of your spells, it cursed her to only talk in song lyrics instead."

America laughs his obnoxious laugh and then yells

"Yeah! She has to sing whatever song you tell her! Check it, America, Fuck Yeah!"

He rips off the tape, which leads to California bursting out into song again, in very obvious misery

**"****America, ****America. America, Fuck Yeah! ****Comin' again to save the motherfuckin' day, yeah. America, fuck Yeah! ****Freedom is the only way, yeah. Terrorists, your game is through ****'cause now you have ta answer to, America, Fuck yeah!"**

She falls down onto the floor, trying to drown out the very Patriotic song in the plush carpet. England sighs in exasperation and says

"Well, if she's going to have to deal with being cursed, you should at least make her sing a good song. Can't buy me love."

She gets back on her feet, but still in pain at being ordered around about what to sing, but sings out anyway

**"Can't buy me love, love. ****Can't buy me love**. **I'll buy you a diamond ring**** my friend if it makes you feel alright. ****I'll get you anything my friend if it makes you feel alright. ****Cos I don't care too much for money****, and money can't buy me love"**

England sighs in content at California's beautiful singing, but America interrupts

"Stop brain-washing my state! Working in a coal mine!"

This kind of bickering goes on for a while, with Virginia and DC watching in udder shock. California is writhing on the floor, disgusted at the country's music taste. DC clears his throat loudly to get their attention, and then says

"We'll have plenty of time for you two to release sexual tension later,"

At the exact same time, both nations say in response

"This is not sexual tension!"

Cali, on cue, starts singing a new song. She probably would've started singing it without the spell though.

**"****Liar, liar! Oh you don't ever tell the truth. ****Liar, liar! Can't nobody see you're fireproof?"**

As that song progresses, Virginia says to England

"Well, can you fix her or what? It is your crappy spell"

England shoots a glare at her, then pulls a magic wand out of his jacket pocket

"I'm glad you asked"  
He points it at California, who is trying to get the tape back over her mouth, and says a spell. Instantly, California is transformed into a mermaid.

_Yeah, not exactly right. But the singing's gone_

England curses and then tries again. This time she's back to her normal shape, but a dark shade of purple.

_Okay, one more try. That outta do it._

With another swish and flick, Cali is now levitating a few inches off the ground and still purple

_Well, third time's the charm._

She falls to the ground with a thud, now her golden tan replacing the purple that really clashed with her denim mini-skirt, and groans in pain. She sits up, and says to them

"Virginia, you have three seconds to run. One.."

* * *

I DID IT I FINISHED THE CHAPTER THANK GOD. Okay, well that's all! The songs I used (In order) are "Hell of a Ride" by Bo Burnham, "Cameras" by Matt and Kim, "Omigod you guys" from Legally Blonde the Musical, "Shut up and drive" by Rhianna, and "Liar Liar" by Avicii. This was fun to write, and I tried to get as many songs at possible in there, but I could only use so many. Please review, they are my fuel. See you next time!


	20. Bonding Time

Texas and New York have this agreement that whoever gets a kiss on the lips from California first wins, and the other needs to back off. So now, both are determined to capture Cali's heart before the other.

America had sent California, Texas, and New York together for "bonding" but really he just wanted some peace and quiet for a little bit.  
They had all agreed to spend a few days in each state, starting with New York, then Texas, and ending with California.

So now, they are all walking in downtown New York City at 9 at night, trying to decide what to do.

Cali was wearing her favorite pair of denim shorts, and New York's jacket over her tube top. He insisted because of how cold it was and she happily obliged, thoroughly pissing off Texas.

* * *

"Well, we could go see the Statue of Liberty"

"I think we should see a musical"

"I'm just sick of the food here. Don't you have any barbecue? All I see are nasty hotdogs"

"Take that back, right now!"

"Make me, city slicker!"

California, who was walking between the two of them, grabs both of their hands, causing them both to blush.

With a leap forward, she plows forward through the crowd, still holding onto them both.

"Cali! Slow down! You're gonna tear my arm outta it's socket!"

California pulls up short when they reach a grand store and let's go of the boys. She swoons and clasps her hands over her heart.

"It's...so...beautiful"

They had come to the Nintendo Store. It was lit with blue lights, highlighting the many electronics on display in the busy store.  
New York straightens out his shirt, and smiles.

"I didn't know you were such a fan of Nintendo, Cali"

She turns to him, still with a mystified look on her face

"Of course! Japan sends me stuff all the time! I had no idea you had such a tubular store in here!"

New York grins at the compliment while Texas looks around at the different consoles, games, and merchandise. Texas turns to the two of them, eying California warily

"Just don't go crazy, okay? I don't think we really need to rack up a huge bill."

Cali waves away his comment and walks towards the station where they keep the 3DSs and starts playing.

"You might as well give up now, dust breath. She's all over me"

Texas rolls his eyes and pats New York on the shoulder

"Yeah, sure. Just wait till we get to Texas. Then we'll see how much she likes you."

Speaking of California, as we usually are, now she has gone over to a giant flat screen, and is battling a couple of young boys in Super Smash Brothers Brawl.

She's crushing them

**Into the ground.**

She has a rabid look on her face, and is wildly mashing buttons as fast as humanly possible.

When she beats the kids, she smiles at them and shakes their out-stretched hands. The kids step down, and are replaced by a few college boys.

"So, wanna play?"

The boy who just spoke winks at her, and Cali giggles

"Sure! My name's Angel!"

"I'm Todd. Nice to see a fresh face."

She picks up the controller, and selects Samus as her character. Todd chooses Pit, and they begin the battle.

Todd tries to go easy on her at first, but when she destroys him repeatedly, he starts to actually fight. That doesn't stop Cali from easily beating him however.

A small crowd has formed around the two, now. Texas and New York are at the front of the group, cheering on California.

When the battle ends, with California as a winner of course, Todd turns to her and shakes her hand. They both step off the platform, and Todd says to her

"You know, I've never been beaten by a really pretty girl before"

California smiles as Texas and New York walk over. Todd pales at the sight of the incredibly angry, muscular, young man standing behind her. Cali says to him

"Well, better luck in your next match. Bye! It was so radical to meet you!"

She blows him a small kiss, and walks over to the Link plushies. Todd chuckles nervously and says to the two extremely menacing boys

"Um, hey there! Everything okay?"

Texas narrows his eyes and says in a low voice

"Well, I sure hope so. Just stay away from her, got it?"

With that, the two states turn around to go over to where California was standing.

"Todd! You okay, man?"

His friends have now caught up with Todd.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Why do all the hot girls have crazy friends?"

* * *

It was around 11pm when the trio retired back to New York's apartment. Cali was really tired, leaning on Texas's shoulder. Not that he minded. He even scooped her up when they got to the lobby and carried her up to the apartment, with New York following, saying

"I could've carried her..."

When they got into the apartment, Texas set down the drowsy Cali and New York said

"Well, there's only two beds. Cali, would you care to join me in my room?"

Cali rubs her eyes and murmurs out a non-committal little grunt, oblivious to the question's pretenses. Texas glares at New York

"Well now, taking advantage of the poor girl while she's tired. That's not very nice."

"I am not taking advantage of her!"

"Yes, you are. Here Cali, you can take the guest bed. I'll sleep in the living room."

"Oh don't act so high and mighty!"

"It's just common courtesy! I'm not sure how you city folk were raised, but in the South we're taught to respect women!"

"Don't refer to me as 'city folk'!"

Cali sighs at the two idiots arguing in front of her and stands up

"If it's that big of a deal, I'll just sleep on the couch."

She goes over to the couch, and lays down, ignoring the protests coming from the two others. She's out like a light in a matter of seconds and soon the only sound in the apartment is the soft hum of traffic outside, and California's rhythmic breath.

Texas and New York look at each other, sending a silent warning, and both retire to their respective rooms.

* * *

Yay! I've made 20 of these! Thank you to everyone for your continued support, reviews, and views! I'm sorry this is so late, school is really time consuming. See you next time with Texas's one shot! Send me some stuff to do in Texas, because I can't think of anything really famous besides a rodeo, and that's a little too cliche for my taste. See you next time!


	21. Nature Walk

"Dang, I had no idea Texas was so far away from New York"

California did a few stretches. She hates air-travel, preferring boats. It was too confining, and stuffy for Cali's tastes. Texas and New York fought silently over carrying her luggage for her, and New York won.

They walked out of the airport, California on the phone with Arizona

"Yes Ari, I'm fine. The plane landed safely. No, nobody felt me up. Don't worry so much, I have New York and Texas to watch after me. No, I didn't mean- never mind. Talk to you later, Ari. Arizona, drop it. Ariz-Arizo- goodbye! Give everyone my love!"

She hung up the phone quickly and let out a breath of exasperation at his antics. Texas slung his leather backpack over his shoulder and smiled. Arizona was infamous for looking after his older sister, and being wary of anybody within 100 feet of her. It was kinda cute how much he guarded Cali, but at the same time, really annoying when he tried to make a move on her.

New York didn't understand how close all the Western states were, with the Eastern states always getting on each others nerves all the time.

Texas hailed a taxi, and soon they all piled into the backseat with California sitting between the two of them. Whether or not she did this on purpose to keep the boys from fighting, is unknown, but it worked.

* * *

When they reached Texas's large house, Cali sprinted upstairs to take a shower. The air was humid and her hair was not taking it well. Not to mention she now had a thin layer of dust and dirt on her skin.

Texas and New York both set down their stuff, not talking very much besides small talk. Then they hear the singing coming from upstairs. It's obviously California's voice, and she's singing a pop song that nicely compliments her vocals. The boys are too distracted by the hypnotic and relaxing sound to understand what the song is about or even know what song it is. She stops singing that song and switches to a rap song. Not quite as pretty, and no where near as hypnotic, so now that boys have snapped out of their trance. Texas stands up, clears his throat, and walks upstairs

"Wait, where are you going, rattler?

"I'm going to get her a towel, I doubt she remembers where they are."

New York starts walking up after him

"What are you doing?"

"Just making sure you weren't lying to me"

Texas rolls his eyes and continues up the stairs with New York following, scrutinizing his every action.

* * *

California massaged the soap through her hair while humming the instrumental part of the song to herself. It had taken her a while to scrub all the dirt off herself, and now has the task of getting it out of her hair.

While pausing to grab her comb, she notices the voices outside the room. Barely audible over the running water, she hears the boys arguing. Over what, she has no idea. She can only hear snippets of their conversation.

"Loosen up, York. It's just a..."

"...then I can..."

"No it's my house and she's..."

She can guess that they are talking about her, seeing as she's the only girl in the house, but what are they saying about her?

"Don't make me get my rifle in here!"

"Oh yeah? Well..."

"Shut yer trap..."

"...not the biggest state..."

"...you're not one of the top three..."

Cali shrugs and goes back to untangling her long hair. Land size is a common dispute between the states, and California is used to arguments anyway, so she easily tunes them out.

There's a knock on the door, and Texas's voice says in a soft tone

"Cali? I got you a towel"

"Oh cool! Thanks! Just throw it in."

The door opens for a split second and a large green towel is tossed into the room. Texas hesitates a second before slamming the door shut again.

_Weird. What's his deal?_

* * *

Texas decided to take them hiking on the Greenbelt Corridor. It was a beautiful day, and Cali was wearing denim shorts and a tank top, as usual. Texas and New York had both gone in t-shirts and shorts, but Texas had his trusty cowboy hat with him.

It's a 40 mile hike, a full day one. About 10 miles in, California is still skipping along. New York started to get rather sluggish around 3 miles, and Texas is also getting a little winded. California's cheeks are bright red from the exercise, and she's tied her hair back in a pony tail. Texas, of course, is swooning over how rugged she looks. New York, however, is just trying to match her pace and too preoccupied with that to notice the girls looks.

"You know, this is excellent cardio!"

New York is close to panting in exhaustion. Texas wipes his forehead with his bandana and calling out to her

"Hey Cali! How about we take a break?"

Texas does not like showing weakness, especially in front of Cali, but he was getting pretty tired. He hadn't anticipated it being so hot, plus California was hard to keep up with.

They come to a shady spot under a tree and New York immediately sits down and starts to chug water from his bottle. Texas pulls a energy bar out of one of his backpack's packets and eats it hungrily.

Cali waves to the group of people on horseback riding by. Some of them wave back, but most are snapping pictures or trying to not fall off their horse.

It was a gorgeous trail, the trees had yellow leaves and small flowers were popping up around in the green grass. It's not the dirt pile you might expect with Texas, it was rather pretty, actually.

* * *

Once California got the boys back on their feet and they continued down the trail, she said to them

"You know, I would expect the toughest states in America to be up for a little walk like this."

The boys would usually take offense at this, but she just called them the toughest states in America, so they let it go

"It's probably that I've had more practice. I do a lot of running to stay in shape, and every month or so I jog around the perimeter of my state."

It had never occurred to either state that California cared about her body image, and had to constantly put effort into looking good. They are also surprised by the 2,000 mile run Cali can withstand.

_She's quite the athlete._

* * *

It's getting dark by the time Texas has finally brought them back to the trail. They had gotten lost because of California chased a bunny through the woods, so then Texas and New York had to go after her, and they couldn't make their way back to the trail. The stars were shining bright over the grassy hill they stood on. The trio sat down on the grass and looked up at the night sky.

_This is the perfect time to make my move, if only New York was out of the picture._

Texas slid towards Cali cautiously and almost put his arm around her shoulder when New York coughed loudly, startling California into almost toppling over. She righted herself, and giggled

"I am such a klutz!"

She stretched out her legs and Texas glared at New York who looked at him innocently.

It was quiet for a while, until California said to them

"You know, you guys are the best friends a girl could hope for."

Texas looked at her and blushed, but grinned all the same. New York was let down at being called a 'friend' and reached for her hand trying to reinforce the point that he should be more than her friend but grabbed Texas's hand on accident. The two boys recoiled, Texas started to shake his hand as to get the germs off, and New York made a disgusted face.

New York sighed and laid back on the grass. Texas turned to Cali, who was still looking up at the stars. He tucked one of her stray hairs behind her ear, and said suavly

"California, you look dazzling. The stars will never shine as bright as you"

New York gagged at the cheesy line, but Cali smiled and looked at Texas wit her big blue eyes

"You really think so?"

"I don't think so, I know so"

Texas tried to lean in for a kiss, but California's phone went off. She excused herself to pick it up, and Texas dropped his head in his hands

"Every time! Every time the moment is right, something happens!"

New York snorted at Texas's bad luck and said

"Better luck next time, dirt-brain."

"Why you little-"

Cali stopped their impending argument by plopping down between them and putting her phone back in her pocket.

"That was just Utah. Apparently, Nevada was getting married again, and he needed to know how to stop it. No biggie."

The boys fell silent. Cali looked at them for a second before saying

"Did I miss something?"

Her eyes got wide and a sly smile graced her face

"Or did I interrupt something?"Texas immediately shut down that idea. California stood up and fixed her shirt.  
"Okay, well. I think it's time to go back to Texas's place. Let's get going before the coyotes come out"

* * *

Oh geez this is really late. Curse you school! Well, anyway, thanks for your continued support! Next up is California! Whoop whoop! Don't forget to review, reviews are my inspiration! See you next time!


	22. Mr Jerry Brown

As soon as California stepped off the plane they had taken from Texas, she relished the air and then shouted out in the busy airport

"IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK!"

Texas and New York, both extremely tired and upset about their failed attempts at getting a kiss from Cali, only shake their heads at her and continue on.

When they got to where all the cars were waiting to pick up the people who had just arrived, Cali called out

"Hey Jerome! Long time no see, buddy!"

There stood Jerome, in front of a long black limousine, wearing a fancy suit.

"Good day, Ms. Jones."

He opened the door for California and she got in.

"Well? Are you coming or are you just gonna stand there?"

Texas and New York got into the limo after her. The inside was black fake leather, lit with dim LEDs and very posh. Cali slid to the front of the limo to say to the driver

"Take us to Sacramento, please"

She slid back to where the boys were sitting and said to them

"We can stay at whatever house you want, but I have some business to take care of at the office."

Texas leaned back, grabbing a beer from a cooler and cracking open, says

"Hey, what ever you want."

New York sat still and silent though. He felt humbled by California's fancy butler, chauffeur, and limousine. She noticed his confused expression and reassured him that she didn't usually use the limo, it was the only thing at short notice. He seemed to relax after that.

"So you have multiple houses?"

Cali nodded and said

"Well yeah! I have one in San Francisco, Sacramento, Beverly Hills, LA, and one on the beach. You guys don't have more than one house?"

They shook their heads, still in shock that she had the money to afford all of them

"I bought all of them out of my own pocket, except the one in Sacramento, with my pay from modeling and singing. I used to have an agent, but he turned out to be a sleaze ball, so I fired him"

She drowned on a bit on how hard it is to find a good modeling job these days, mentioning her time at Victoria's Secret, which caused both boys blush.

* * *

Eventually, they made it to Cali's office in Sacramento. There was a small women sitting at a desk, typing pointedly. She only stopped briefly when she noticed California, waving her into the governor's office. For a while, Texas and New York sat in the secretary's waiting chairs. Then the secretary looked up for the first time in ten minutes, and said to the boys in a nasal voice

"I'm sorry, this is a private building. May I see you visitor's passes?"

Texas stuttered for a few seconds, before New York said

"Ma'am, do you know who we are?"

He was trying to figure out how much she knew as to not spill Cali's secret. The president doesn't want the states telling everyone who they are.

"Well, all I know is that you don't have a visitor's pass and will have to leave."

With that she pressed a little button on the front of her desk, next to the computer, and said

"Security?"

The two boys both started to protest, but California came out of the governor's office and said to the secretary

"Liz? What are you doing?"

Liz explained the situation to her. Cali sighed and said to her

"Liz, I'd like you to meet New York and Texas"

She gestured to each of the boys, and Liz's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh! I'm so sorry Miss California! I didn't mean-"

"No, Liz it's fine. No harm done."

Cali waved them towards the office, and the boys nodded at Liz, and then went into the room with Cali.

"Well Jerry, these are my fellow states! This is Yorkie, or I guess New York"

She pointed flamboyantly to New York who smiled and gave a small wave to the governor.

"and this is Texas!"

Texas bowed, ever so slightly, and then elbowed New York in the side. New York retaliated by jabbing him is the side with his own elbow. This almost escalated to a full-blown fist-fight, but Cali cleared her throat

"I'm sorry for the interruption, sir. I had to save these two from getting themselves kicked out,"

Texas opened his mouth to protest, but closed it when she turned to him with one eyebrow raised and her hands planted on her hips, as if daring him to say anything. He crossed his arms, and blushed. Jerry chuckled and said

"Good to meet some other states for once."

He turned back to his desk and picked up a few papers, handing them to California

"Well this is all you need. I'm sorry I interrupted your vacation."

Cali takes the papers and flips through them, sighing

_Awww I hate paperwork_

"I know you hate paperwork California, but this is important."

Blowing a kiss to her boss, she turns and skips out of the room. Texas and New York watch her go, and then turn to Governor Brown. New York sticks out his hand and gives him a little smile. Brown shakes his hand and says to the two of them

"Just...just keep her safe, okay? She's not always thinking. I trust you two can handle that. Well, I don't have to worry about her with Arizona around, but still. Tell Perry* and Cuomo** I say hello."

With that, the two states leave the office, trying to catch up with Cali.

* * *

Well, that was quick. I have stretched this into a 4 parter now because I wanted to throw the Governor in there. Thanks for reading and reviewing! See you next time!

*Texas's governor

**New York's governor


	23. On the Sand

Cali decided to take them to Santa Monica beach for the day. They rode there in her convertible, not her Leaf since she didn't want it to get all sandy, with the top down and everything. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail, and it was gently flapping in the wind. She had on her favorite bikini, a maroon one with white polka-dots, and a crop top cover-up. The crop top said "_CA love_" in swirly letters and had her flag underneath the words.

Texas sat next to her in the passenger's seat, after shoving New York in the back. The sun was blazing in the sky, making Cali glow as she drove along the empty road. A song on the radio came on, a song called "_Walking in L.A._" and Cali tapped the steering wheel and sang along.

"Hey, Cali?"

"Yeah? What's up Yorkie?"

"Why is nobody walking L.A.?"

She laughed a bit at that,

"Well, everything in L.A. is so far apart that you have to drive to get anywhere."

New York nodded in thought while Texas snorted

"Hold on, nobody walks in L.A?"

"Well I'm sure somebody walks there, but it's not as common."

She pulled into the parking lot by the beach, and climbed out.

* * *

The sand was buzzing with activity. Little children ran around chasing birds, surfer guys sanded down their boards, and skinny girls laid out on their towels in bikinis.

As they walked along the water, trying to find a place to set down their stuff, Cali waved to a few of the surfer guys, and they waved back.

Once they had laid out their towels and put up the umbrella, a few of the surfers guys walked over. She jumped up and hugged them, saying their greetings. Texas and New York are extremely wary of this group of tanned boys, who seem to have known her for a while.

"So, babelini*, ready to catch some bodacious waves?"

She laughs and nods, grabbing her board she brought with her. She looks over her shoulder at the boys and waves them towards her. They exchange a look of wary, but still get up and follow her into the water.

* * *

"HOLY CRAP THIS IS FREEZING!"

Texas jumps into the air, trying to get back to the warm sand, but instead goes crashing down head first into the water. New York stands next to him, laughing, but gets pulled down with him. Cali suppresses at laugh at them, and continues out, getting deeper and deeper, until she can't touch the ground anymore. Luckily, she brought a few extra surfboards for the boys, so she can at least try to get them on a wave.

She spots an oncoming wave, a good one. She hops onto the boards and paddles. She strokes the water with such grace and accuracy that could only be the product of many years of experience. The wave plucks up her and the board, and she hops up onto her feet. The surfer dudes are hooting and hollering at her to do some tricks, and she happily obliges. She leans forward, and shoots up the side of the wave, and then falls back into the wave's hands.

Texas and New York gape at her sheer talent and finesse. She steers the board towards the boys, and right as she's about to crash into them, jerks the boards back, stopping it in it's tracks. She sits on the board, casually swinging her tan, toned legs.

"So, you ready to try it?"

* * *

First up is New York. He readjusts his swim trunks and lays down on the board Cali brought him. They paddle out together, California obviously going slowly so York can keep up. She shows him how to duck dive under waves, and how to maneuver.

Suddenly, while Cali is showing him were to grip the side of the board, a giant wave is rolling towards them. She Eskimo rolls with ease, while York is not so lucky. He is taken by surprise, and is blow backwards by the giant wall of seawater. Once the wave has petered-out, he gets up and shakes the water out of his ear while Texas is laughing his head off. York gives him the middle finger while trying to paddle back out to Cali.

* * *

"Ready?"

"Wait, what?"

"GO!"

Cali shoves York's board forward and the powerful wave bears down on him. He tries to stand up, or just stay on the board, but tumbles over.

One of the experienced surfer guys shouts out

"EPIC FLAIL*, BRO!"

New York grumbles to himself about nosy, idiots who have sand stuck in their brain, while Texas grabs his board and runs out for his lesson.

"I have to warn you, I have some practice. I grew up by the Gulf of Mexico, and I've had my fair share of ocean."

Cali smiles and hops onto her board.

"Well then, just follow my lead."

She looks out onto the horizon and sees a small swell building up. She turns back to Texas, and points to it. He gets the message, and begins to paddle out.

Cali puts her hand on her board and leans back, soaking up the sun and the salty air. Then, she turns her attention to Texas, who is getting up onto his feet, and carefully working his way on the wave back to the beach. Cali cheers and claps her hands. She gets on her own wave, a perfect one, and catches up to him in a few seconds.

New York is sitting on his towel, pouting, and Cali laughs at him playfully. Texas comes up behind Cali, wraps his arms around her waist, picking her up and twirling her around. Her protests quickly turn to giggles as she's spun around. When he sets her down, York is on his feet.

"Cali? Wanna build a sand castle?"

She perks up excitedly and follows him to a small patch of damp sand. They pile it up, making a solid foundation. Texas takes a bucket of water and pours it over York's head, which leads to York tripping him. Texas gets a face full of sand, and is about to throw York into the surf, when Cali refills the bucket of water and pours it on Texas.

Now everyone is throwing water,sand, trying to get the other. It's all fun and games till York accidentally crashes into Cali, knocking her to the ground. She lays there, and Texas and York are frozen. She slowly gets up onto her knees, and says quietly

"So, that's how it's going to be?"

She springs up and gets York in a head-lock, smashing his head against her ample chest. He blushes wildly, and tries to get out of the hold, but she's hanging on tight. Texas picks up Cali in his arms and throws he over his shoulder, dropping York to the ground. She pounds her hands on his back, not really trying to hurt him, as he runs back to where they were originally building their sand castle. He sets her down on the sand, and she digs her toes into the substantial pile of sand they had packed together. She covers her legs in the powdery, cool, sand and eventually has them buried deep in it. She draws a scale pattern over the top and shouts to the boys, who had been trying to catch sand crabs

"Hey look! I'm a mermaid!"

* * *

It was around 7pm when they got home. Cali shook her head, throwing sand all over the place. They had decided to go to her Beverly Hills house, since it was the closest and the largest. All three of them took turns showering to get the sand out of their clothes and body.

Once Cali was clean, she put on her pajamas, consisting of fuzzy Disney pants, and a soft tank top that was decorated with little oranges. She went down to her living room and sat on the couch facing the huge plasma screen t.v. She was soon joined by Texas and New York, who also had their pajamas on.

They debated for a while on what movie to watch, Cali wanting to watch a Romantic comedy, Texas wanting to watch a Western, New York wanting to watch Lion King, until they came across "_Independence Day". _America made the states all watch it a few years back on the 4th of July, but it had been a while and none of them really even remembered the plot.

Cali put the disc in, and sat between the boys.

* * *

The movie was almost over, but Cali was already asleep. She was draped over New York's shoulder, York gladly excepting the contact. Texas was too wrapped up in the movie to notice. Once the credits started rolling, Texas got up and started to stretch out his legs and shake the popcorn crumbs from his pants. He looked up to see Cali practically sitting in New York's lap, snuggled up in his chest. He glared at York, who shrugged innocently. Well, he would've shrugged if Cali wasn't leaning on him. York stood up, now carrying California, and started to walk upstairs to where her room was. She was awoken by the sudden movement, but was too drowsy to go up the steps by herself so she relaxed back into his arms.

Once they reached her room, he laid her down in the queen-size bed and she kissed him on the forehead in thanks. She didn't think the kiss meant anything, but York sure did. The second he closed the door to her room, he did a small victory dance.

_I'm just one step closer to getting a real kiss now! Suck on that 10-gallon brain!_

* * *

Okay, done with that series, on to the next! Technically, it's not even one-shots anymore, but a story with some out of order chapters. Oh well, too late to change it now. Thanks for reviewing, so you next time!


	24. Happy Family

California stares down at the papers in her hand. The assignment she got from her boss was to have South Italy stay at her place for a little while to improve trade and relations. She also suspected that his boss decided Romano needed a vacation, and thought he could hide it as a diplomatic affair.

She had never met the Italian country officially, but heard from America that he was a rude annoying prick, but who knows. America isn't exactly the best at reading people.

_Well, let's just get it over with. He'll be here any second. _

She sat on a hard metal bench in the airport terminal. It was rather warm outside so she was fanning herself with one hand and gripping her purse in the other.

_I am NOT getting my bag stolen again, no sir. _

* * *

Romano stepped off the plane and went over to the Baggage Carousel to pick up his luggage. He wasn't exactly very excited to meet her either. The last time he saw her, she was threatening to tear some throats out with her pet bear. He shuddered at the thought of having to live with that beast for the week. Also the bear would be a hazard.

Once he had gotten his bag, he walked over to where California said she'd be.

There standing by a wall, was a girl, bleach blonde hair, bright blue eyeshadow, typing away at her phone, chewing gum loudly. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and jutted out her hip, still texting.

_There she is. God, she looks like an idiot. Of course, she is an American. _

He walked over to the girl and shoved his bag at her rudely. She looked at him, confused, and said

"Do I know you?"

He rolled his eyes and was about to retort with a sarcastic comment, when he heard someone calling his name

"Romano?! What are you doing?"

Another girl walked over and grabbed his bag, and pulled him away by the ear

"You're here two minutes and you're already hitting on girls! Come on! Isn't this a diplomatic event?"

Romano's cheeks got red in embarrassment as he realized that the girl scolding him was California, not the girl by the wall.

"I thought that girl was you! Geez, no need to get all offended."

Cali sighed in frustration and let go of his ear. She crossed her arms and said, in a tone very unlike her usually sunny one,

"Look, I don't think either of us wants to be here, but I promised America I would play nice. So if you could just shut up for a little while, that would be great"

She stalked off, still carrying his bag.

_That's a really heavy bag and she's carrying it like it's nothing! Are all of the states as strong as America?_

She ushered him into a small, red car, throwing his bag into the trunk and getting in the driver's seat. She sped off, accelerating more than usual out of frustration and annoyance.

* * *

Once they reached Cali's house, she showed him where he was going to be sleeping then quickly left, saying that she's be out in her garden.

He took a moment unpack before getting something to eat.

_Well, she's rather beautiful. Not to mention she has a nice body. I wonder who she's dating. Probably one of those big shot movie stars. Is it against the rules for a state to date a human? Most likely. She said she was going out to the garden, I think I'll go too. Not because I like her or anything like that, because I want to see if she has any tomatoes! Yeah, tomatoes. _

When he finally finds the back door and leaves the mansion, he hears soft singing. Very good singing, in fact. It's a love song, and it's in Spanish. He can tell that much from all his time with Spain. He recognizes words like "life" "lips" and "around". He marveled at her ability to switch between languages with ease. He had a rough time learning Spanish, and even now it's rough.

When that songs ends, she begins singing a different one. It's in a language he doesn't recognize at first, but after a second realizes it's Japanese.

_Obviously, she's more intelligent that I originally thought._

He realizes he's been standing in the doorway for a while, and begins to follow a winding path through the magnificent garden. There are rows and rows of different vegetables and fruits all over. Avocados, oranges, lemons, grapes, strawberries, even potatoes.

When he comes along a tomato plant, covered in ripe, juicy tomatoes, he plucks a singular one and bites into it. It's bursting with flavor from it's days out in the hot sun, and tastes a lot like the ones Spain gives him.

There's a tap on his shoulder and he almost chokes on the bite of tomato. California laughs at his tomato-juice covered terrified expression. She readjusts the basket brimming with onions, garlic, tomatoes, and spinach so it rests comfortably on her hip.

_Now that she's smiling, she looks a lot prettier._

She turns around and says over her shoulder

"Just making sure you weren't eating my prize oranges, those are for me."

* * *

When it was around dinner time, Romano wondered downstairs, looking for something to eat

_Let's just hope I can stomach whatever grease-ball she serves._

When he reaches her kitchen, there are some other guests over. There are five boys and one girl wondering around, some talking to Cali, others preparing food. Everyone is in a bright and cheery mood, telling jokes and singing songs. California is relaxed around these people, and is dicing some onions. The little girl, dressed in a floral dress, notices him standing in the kitchen, and screams. She then proceeds to sprint to Cali and hide behind her. Now the other boys have noticed him, and one has even taken out a bow-and-arrow in defense. Romano takes a step back, preparing to flee, but California waves him over to where they are standing and he does.

"Well guys, this is Romano. South Italy"

Romano has reverted back to his usual grumpy expression and Arizona lowers his bow, but doesn't put it away.

"Romano, this is my family. New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, and Hawaii"

She points at each of her siblings as she introduces them and they each smile at him. Hawaii peaks out from behind Cali, but still looks scared of him.

"You look like a man that was there when I got hurt"

California looks quizzically at Romano, daring him to admit he hurt his little sister. Colorado says to Hawaii

"You mean the harbor?"

She nods and grips Cali's shirt. Cali wraps her arms around her little sister and raises an eyebrow at him. Romano shakes his head and sighs

"It was probably North Italy. That idiot helped Japan attack-"

He stopped himself when he noticed New Mexico giving him the signal to not bring that up. Cali picks up the little girl, and says

"Wait, so what happened to making enchiladas? It is enchilada night"

She sets her down and goes back to mincing the onions, then scrapes them into a pan. The rest of them cheer a little before going to get the other ingredients. Romano can only stare as the family goes back to their laughing, smiling, and ignoring him. He seats himself while Nevada comes up to him

"So, you're the pasta guy?"

He says it then takes a gulp from the bottle of Jack Daniels he held in his hand, explaining the slight slurring to his voice. Romano shakes his head and explains that the "pasta guy" is his brother. Nevada laughs and sits down next to him

"Seems like your brother is the popular one, huh grumpy-pants?"

Romano only gets even more grumpy at the notion that he wasn't as important as North Italy. He only grumbles a little response before New Mexico wondered over

"So you were raised by Spain too, right?"

Romano nodded but then asked

"You were raised by Spain?"

Utah comes over, laughing at the question and responds for him

"Oh no, the Spanish empire was long gone by the time we came around. It was Cali that was raised by Spain."

Cali looks over at the group and chuckles to herself

"Guys, calm down. Give him some space!"

She puts the pan in the oven, and wipes her hands on her shirt. They set the table, getting out sour cream and utensils. The room is buzzing with activity, but Romano is still mulling over the thought of Spain raising another child.

_No point in worrying about it now. I can ask her about it later._

* * *

Dinner was delicious. There was little to no conversation as everyone scarfed down the mouth-watering enchilada. Once they were all done, Romano excused himself upstairs while the states started to goof-off together. He felt a pang of sadness and jealously watching a happy family have a nice dinner, when his family was far from that close.

Flopping down on the guest bed, he closed his eyes, and fell asleep. Even if it was only 6, he was tired and had just had a really good, filling dish. He dreamed of a perfect family, one that he was apart of.

* * *

Aw poor Lovi. I plan on having a follow-up chapter for this one, so watch put for it. See you next time! Thanks for reading and reveiwing!


	25. Super Bowl

_Dear Romano,_

_Today is the Superbowl, an American sports competition, so I will be spending the day in D.C. With my family. Try not to break anything, and avoid Sacramento. He dislikes people who smell like tomatoes. It's nothing personal, it's just it reminds him of Spain. Bye! _

_ -Angel Carriedo Jones a.k.a. California_

* * *

The game was supposed to start at 3:30, so California got to DC's place around 2. DC's house was huge because it's where America stays most of the time too. The president was also there, but in a separate room, so he wouldn't be caught in the cross -fire from excited and/or pissed off states. New Jersey was the only one not there, because every year, he and his governor get invited to the actual stadium. No matter how much America begs, he never gets to tag-along, and has to watch it with the states.

This year, America invited England over. What England didn't realize when he accepted was that he was going to be in a room full of energized, angry, and slightly drunk states. In a matter of minutes, Massachusetts has kicked him in the gut, and then ran away yelling

"FREEDOM, BITCH!"

The game was the Seattle Sea hawks vs. the Denver Broncos. Washington and Colorado sat on opposite sides of the room, glaring at each other, both wearing their respective jerseys.

California was sitting closer to the middle of the room, not noticing the big argument over who got to sit next to her. Arizona had instantly taken the seat on her left, so New York and Texas are now wrestling to decide who gets to sit next to her.

While those two were fighting, Oregon came over and sat on Cali's right. Cali was eager to start talking to him, while Texas and New York both finally accepted defeat and went to sit next to America.

The room was layered with all sorts of snacks. Beer, chips, pretzels, fruit, and lots of food from Washington and Colorado. Cali has a Coke in her hand, and is placing bets with Nevada. (Nevada always took advantage over situations like this)

All the East Coast states are more at ease today then last year because they had to deal with Maryland gloating. Then they had to protect Maryland from Cali's pick-ax of death after the 49ers lost.

Oregon and Cali are chatting a bit

"I'm sorry the 49ers didn't make it this year"

Cali shrugged and took a swig from her Coke

"Well, I'm just proud of my lil' bro for making it so he can kick Washington's ass for me"

Washington has overheard this part of the conversation and shouts out

"CALI! HOW DID IT FEEL TO BE BEATEN BY MY GLORIOUS SEA HAWKS?"

Cali rolls her eyes and shouts back

"SHUT UP WASHY!"

She turns back to Oregon

"I bet you're proud of Washy for making it too, huh? She is your sister after all"

He shrugs

"Well, we're definitely not as tight as you guys, that's for sure"

* * *

Texas and New York are both steaming with rage next to America. England slowly backs away from the enraged states. Texas spits out

"Look at that dirty, lumberjack, stoner, pretentious, hipster, tree-hugger, chiseler talking to California. I bet he's gonna slip something into her drink, just watch him"

New York looks at him confused

"I didn't know that Oregon chisels."

Texas sighs and shakes his head

"No, it's a term for a cheater."

New York is still confused, but drops it in favor of talking to America

"Am I allowed to go kick Oregon's ass?"

America shakes his head and tells him

"I think this could be settled by talking to Cali. Neither of you have made a move, so it's perfectly fine for Oregon to talk to her."

New York grumbles about Oregon not being worthy of her, while America fills England in

"You see, it's straight out of a movie. Texas and New York both like California, but neither of them have the guts to tell her. It's up to me to make sure this doesn't turn into a large scale fight, and not to fan the flames. New York already hates most of the West Coast, but throw a girl into the mix, and we have another Civil War on our hands"

England looks over at California, who looks back and waves flirtatiously at him before turning back to staring at the giant screen television.

Now both Texas and York are glaring at England, who is down-right terrified. America stops Texas from strangling England, and decides it's best to move away from the duo. England is very shaken by this time, and it takes a lot of reassurance from America that no one else will attempt to hurt him.

York stands up and says confidently

"That's it, I'm gonna go talk to her!"

He makes his way over to California, and when he gets there, whispers into Arizona's ear

"I think I saw someone messing with your bow"

Arizona leaps up from his spot on the couch, and goes to where he left his bow to make sure no one was touching it. York takes his place on the couch and puts his arm around Cali's shoulder, gaining her attention

"Oh hey Yorkie! Didn't see you there! You know Oregon of course"

York's smile goes away monetarily as he glances over to Oregon, who smiles at him cautiously, and it turns into a frown when Cali says

"I almost forgot! I need to talk to Texas, brb!"

She gets up from the couch, and skips over to where Texas was sitting

* * *

A hush falls over the states as Renee Fleming begins singing the national anthem. Everyone puts their right hand over their heart as she sings.

Once they get through the song, and another batch of commercials, they flip the coin to see who gets the ball first. Denver wins, which results in Colorado jumping into the air and shouting

"Yes! Take that Washy!"

Washington rolls her eyes and reminds him that it's just a coin toss, and that it doesn't determine who wins.

California sits back down between Oregon and York and is cheering for Colorado, but Seattle scores first.

Washington is sufficiently stoked as the Seahawks gain 14 more points. Colorado is silent, sitting very stiffly and everyone sitting around him is also silent.

* * *

By halftime rolls around, Seahawks are ahead 22-0. Cali swoons as Bruno Mars during the halftime show, leading New York to frown again as she goes on and on about how great Bruno Mars is.

The games starts back up, and the room is so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Then, Seattle gets another touchdown and Washington is screaming her head off. Cali is laughing, but only because Oregon, quiet timid Oregon, is screaming along with his sister.

Cali gets up to get another Coke, and runs into England. He looks extremely confused, so Cali takes a moment to explain American football to him. England still looks just as confused by the time she finishes, but she has to get back to her seat to see the next hike.

New York has lost almost all interest in the game, and is now completely focused on getting Cali's affection. He puts his arm back around her shoulder.

The score is at 29-0 as they switch back from commercials. It's not looking good for the Broncos and Colorado is taking it hard. Utah is patting him on the back as Colorado opens another Coors Light.

New York whispers in California's ear

"You know, you look great."

Cali blushes and thanks him, but keeps the majority of her attention on the screen.

* * *

There was a touching commercial about a soldier coming home and getting a huge welcome party that brought a tear to America's eyes.

Then the game started back up and everyone was on the edge of their seats.

Suddenly, the Broncos score a touchdown. Colorado is on his feet, punching the air. Then he falls back into the recliner. That was all he needed, one touchdown, and now he can relax.

He doesn't notice when Washington scores again, making the score 43-8.

Maybe it's for the best that he's not watching his team get absolutely crushed.

* * *

The Seahawks did win. They won 43-8. Colorado tried his best to keep a straight face, but it was hard with Washington living it up in the same room. She crushed the can of beer on her forehead, while it still had beer in it, and started to chant

"SEAHAWKS! SEAHAWKS!"

Over and over again, until Colorado left the room. Oregon is right next to Washington, laughing and shouting with her, but Cali is still on the couch next to York. Cali has had a few beers over the past hours and is a little tipsy. She is so tipsy that she climbs onto York's lap and puts an arm around his shoulder. Arizona is mortified as York plants a kiss on her neck. Arizona rushes over and is about to pull Cali off York's lap to take her back home, but slips in a pile of Gatorade and is knocked unconscious.

York is pretty intoxicated as well, and doesn't quite register what he's doing, he is just acting on impulse now. All the feelings of love he's had stifled all these years spill out, as he takes advantage of the situation. Texas, however, is sober and notices Cali making out with York. He goes over and picks her up from the couch. York stands up to protest, but sits back down when he receives a death glare from Texas.

Cali is still giggling and acting loopy. She pulls on his collar, dragging his head down to be level with hers, and kisses him. He blushes and almost drops her, but instead jerks his head away. It felt like he was cheating, getting a kiss from her when she's drunk, and decided it would be best to just get her to sleep.

* * *

Cali wakes up in Texas's bed, with a pounding headache, and her lipstick smeared.

_Oh no. This can only mean one thing. _

She slowly turns her head over to the other side of the bed, only to find it empty, much to her relief. She blinks and rubs her eyes, then gets up and heads downstairs. She finds Texas sitting at his kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading the paper. He looks up at her and smirks

"Well, good morning, sleepyhead"

She scratches her head and tells him

"I'm not completely sure what happened yesterday, but I would like to say one thing. Thanks. I'm sure you understand why."

Texas smiles and looks back down at his paper. Cali goes over, and gives him a little peck on the cheek. He blushes bright red at this, and she goes back upstairs while saying

"I'm sure I can get a ride home. Romano must be worried"

* * *

Oh yay I did it! Super late, but done. Go me. I wrote the majority of this while actually watching the game. I knew I needed to write something for the game, and now we'll be back on track with Romano's visit! Feel free to correct any of my football terminology, I'm not really a sports person. Thanks for reading and reviewing! See you next time!


	26. Underlings

The instant Cali walks in the door, she is clobbered by Sacramento. She gives him a big bear hug ((hehe BEAR hug.)) and then goes to find Romano.

_Hopefully, he hasn't been too miserable while I was out. _

When she enters the garden to find him, she figured out it was his favorite place, she sees him standing by a tall tomato plant.

The big surprise is, he's actually smiling. A natural, bright smile. Cali finds herself smiling too, as she walks over. She reaches over his shoulder, which was easy because she was just as tall as him, and plucks a tomato off the plant. His smile disappears when he notices her and is replaced by his usual scowl. Cali laughs and says

"Oh there you are! I didn't recognize you with that weird curve on your face."

She winks at him jokingly and he rolls his eyes

"I got to say, your house is a lot better without you in it, crazy bitch."

Cali shrugs and says back

"Okay, well if you want to stay here alone with Sacramento, be my guest"

Romano grunts and says back

"Okay, well I just want to talk to you about something"

"Really? What is it?"

She sat down on a little stone bench on the side of the path, and motioned for him to follow.

Romano sat and said

"When your brothers were over, they said that you were raised by Spain. Is that true?"

Cali starts laughing as the memory comes back to her.

"Oh right! You were one of Spain's underlings too! He used to talk about you all the time!"

Romano blushes tomato red, Cali held up one of the fruit for comparison, trust me, and he stammers out

"He..he-he talked about me?"

"Please, you were all he talked about"

Cali grinned, a grin very reminiscent to Spain's, and clasped her hands together. She said mockingly

"Oh! Me tomate~! Little Romano tomato! My cute little Romano!"

She pats him on the head.

"Trust me. I heard all about you. It was hard to get anything done while he was on a 'Romano-tangent'. I never really figured out who Romano was, until now that is."

Romano is still slightly blushing as he asks her

"If Spain was your father-,"

He chokes out that word, like it disgusts him, and is about to go on when Cali is laughing again

"Oh no, Spain wasn't my father! I was at least 100 or so by the time he found me. It was a lot more fun before he adopted me. I climbed all day in the trees with Sacramento, played with my brothers Aztec and Inca, but I spent most of my time in the trees. It starts to go downhill from there."

Cali gets a dark look in her eyes and she recalls those days with the conquistadors. Romano urges her to continue, curious, and it's very difficult for her to continue

"Well, what happened was"

She takes a deep breath, trying to stop tears from forming in her eyes, and Romano is starting to regret asking her.

"They killed everyone. Well, not everyone. They enslaved some, forced their religion down their throats, gave them diseases. I got really weak, could barely make it to my tree house. One day, my brothers disappeared. Spain had killed them. That was the real reason I was scared. I thought he was gonna kill me too. When he found me, he tried to talk to me. I could barely understand him, and was so frightened that I kicked him really hard in the shin and ran up a tree."

Romano stifles a laugh at this. It's hard not to imagine Spain getting hurt and not laugh at least a little.

"He did eventually get control over me though. That wasn't fun, not one bit. I was his personal slave."

Instantly, images of California, beautiful California, being under ruthless Spain's control.

"He um, used you for..you know...well"

California's eyes get wide as she shakes her head rapidly

"Oh no! Not that! I was only 6 or 7 physically during this! Spain's not that much of a pedophile! His men had plenty of my people for that."

She shudders at the thought, but continues anyway

"So, anyway, on a much happier note, it got better under his control. He wasn't around as much, and became a lot nicer. He even began to pamper me, spoil me, due to his paranoia that I would leave him and become a English colony instead! He was downright terrified of the British! I was raised to think the same. That they would sink my ships, and destroy my ports, of course I learned later that England took out his armada and still had a few harsh feelings"

She shrugs and says

"So, is that all you need to know? Or is there more? I was just thinking about lunch"

"I just want to know, how did you get to be one of America's states?"

Another dark look crosses her face as she says

"When Mexico revolted, he took me with him. I became apart of Mexico. When the Mexican-American war happened, and Mexico lost, duh, Mexico had to give up Texas. That's when Mexico got the great idea of how to get rid of me. 'Hey, why not give up Alta to America? She's so annoying and I don't like her, so let's just give her up!'. That's what really hurt. Texas was his favorite, he didn't give a damn about me. You know why?"

Romano holds up his hands in surrender and tears emerge from Cali's eyes and she points at him accusingly

"It's because I kept Spain's traditions. Mexico didn't like that. So, what better to do than give up the little brat to America?"

She sighs and slumps over, putting her head in her hands, and starting to sob. Romano is petrified by the sight of the weeping California in front of him

_Oh god, what do I do? Are all girls this emotional? I should probably comfort her._

Romano sets a hand on her back, and pats her awkwardly, unsure of what else to do.

A few minutes pass, and she's still crying. Romano stands up, and heads back inside, scolding himself for making a girl cry.

* * *

California looks up at the sky, still bright blue and cloudless, and thinks

_Oh Aztec, if only you were still here. You would be so proud of me. _

_I miss you._

* * *

Poor Cali! I think this wraps up the Romano series, but let me know if I should do more. Please review! Thanks for everything, you rock stars! Bye!


	27. Pearl Harbour

Once World War II started, America had all the states living with him in DC. He wasn't taking any chances, except for the occasional visit home he allowed the states.

It was Hawaii's turn to go home, and she begged for California to go with her.

Who could say no to that adorable little face?

* * *

America was hosting a Allies meeting in DC as well. He was neutral still, but Europe wasn't safe enough for them to meet. He begrudgingly let them use the room, but had to stay behind and supervise so they wouldn't tear the room apart and give DC a heart attack.

It was December 7th, a boring morning for America. He was staring out the window, tuning out to bickering countries, when his telephone rang. He picked it up, and heard heavy breathing. California was screaming something in a language he couldn't understand, and the loud noise coming from the receiver gained the others attention.

"Cali? Is that you? What's wrong, Goldie?"

Cali's voice was riddled with coughs, due to the smoke she was breathing. She was still shouting something in Hawaiian. For a few minutes, all you could hear were explosions, an that sent America into a panic. He began yelling into the phone, trying to get her attention.

"America! Hawaii's hurt! We need help! America! HAWAII WHERE ARE YOU?!"

America is beginning to sweat and all the other nations are terrified as well. They have no idea what's going on, and neither does America. China turns on the television that hangs in the room, and on the news are videos of Pearl Harbor. Well, what's left of it anyway.

America drops the phone in shock, and his eyes widen. Going on instinct, he picks up the phone and calls the president.  
The president is already fully aware of what's going on, and is trying to organize to help Hawaii. America is still scared out of his wits. Once he hangs up the phone, he sits in front of the TV, clasping his hands together and praying for Hawaii's and California's safety.

The other nations sit down quietly. America being serious and scared, means something big just happened.

* * *

Meanwhile, California has found Hawaii and is giving her a piggyback ride away from the destruction. Hawaii is drifting into a comatose sleep, coughing every so often.

She sets Hawaii down by a palm tree, and tries to see if there are any doctors nearby. Hawaii has a nasty, bleeding scar, that is going to get infected if not treated.

She makes out a silhouette through the smoke, one figure. The hope that it's an American vanishes when she hears him shouting in Italian. Though California is

basically fluent in Italian, it's been a while and his words are slightly lost because of the noise. All she hears is that he's trying to find someone called "Japan".

_Could it be the country? Am I hearing him right?_

Cali goes back to tree and checks up on the practically unconscious girl.

She seems to be okay, for now anyway.

Then she walks towards the figure, toting her pick-ax (Where did that come from?) She walks up to the man, who has his back turned to her. When he turns around,he is faced with a ragged and extremely angry California.

He tries to run, like the wimp that he is, but she hooks him with the end of the pick, and yanks him back.

He stumbles and falls onto her. She catches him, but puts him into a headlock Alabama had shown her a few days before, and then demands in Italian that he tell her who he is and why he's here.

Carefully and near-tears, he tells her that he is Italy, and that he was looking for Japan. Then he starts on a rapid and high pitched rant about how pretty girls shouldn't kill people.

Cali rolls her eyes, disgusted and says, in English this time,

"You see that little girl over there? She's this island, the one you hurt."

She jerks his head to the side so he's looking right at tiny Hawaii, who's still hunched over in pain and crying gently.

"I want to know why she's like that. Are you responsible?"

Though it sounded silly the second she said it, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was at fault somehow.

"It wasn't me! I would never hurt a child! It wasn't my idea! I swear! Please stop-stop choking me!"

She grips him tighter, causing him to take a sudden wheezy breath.

"Not until I get answers. Who's responsible?"

"I can't tell you! I swore Germany I wouldn't tell anyone!"

Cali shakes her head and thinks to herself.

_So this is another country. He's so weak, it's crazy. Though I've heard Germany is far from as weak as this guy._

She drops him and puts a foot in his back, squishing him to the sand

"Well, if you won't tell me, I'm sure you'll tell Mr. Pick ax, right?"

With her foot still on his back, she lifts her weapon, ready to strike as he flailed about on the ground.

Suddenly, she's thrown back by a strong hand. She skids on the sand and hits her head on a rock. There's blood running down her hair, highlighting the red tips, as she stands up.

Her grip tightens around the handle of the ax as she realizes the force that struck her was an Asian man and she's taking the bet that it's Japan. No one else would have the strength to knock her off her feet like that. She looks over and sees Japan walking towards her little sister. Rage and adrenaline over-takes her mind and she charges forward, disregarding the throbbing pain in her skull. With a well-placed swing and flick, the pick ax has blood splattered on the once shiny metal tips. It's not a fatal wound, just in case it was a civilian, but enough to distract him long enough for the girls to get away.

While Japan writhed on the ground, clutching his side where she punctured the skin, California scooped Hawaii's lifeless form up into her arms and high-tailed it away from the two men.

* * *

The sterile scent is the first thing California realizes when she wakes up in the hospital room. America was standing be her, holding her hand, and squeezed even more as she tried to calm her heart rate.

_That's funny, I don't remember passing out._

She looked over at America, and sees that he was tensing his face.

_Of course. Mr. Hero doesn't want to cry in front of me._

Cali sits up. Luckily her wounds were minimal, just a concussion and a few scraps and bruises. She looks at America, boring deep into his blue eyes, and gives him a small smile.

"Where's Hawaii? Where is everyone else? How's everyone doing? What are you doing here? Who's that?"

America turns around, to see England and France enter the room. England is holding a little teddy bear that says 'Get Well Soon!' on it. After a few introductions, California readily accepts the stuffed animal, and thanks him. France kisses her bandaged hand, and hands her a singular rose. When America is about to interject to that particular gesture, Texas and New York burst into the room. They're sweaty and panting, both clutching a large bouquet themselves. Cali giggles at them, and has a witty remark ready, but then he chest tightens and she begins to cough.

All of the men lurch forward, ready to help, but she waves them away. Then New York says

"California, the second we heard about the attack, we all did all we could. Montana, Penn, and some of the others are still on the island cleaning up.

California is bombarded by questions, but she shushes them. She then tells them the story, their eyes getting progressively wider as she continued.

Once she had finished, there was a silence. Then, Texas said

"...Damn. Kitty has claws."

California shrugs, smiling smugly, then asks America

"Well? Can I see Hawaii now?"

America nodded, smiling. He was so proud of California. Not everyone has shish-kebobed a major country, but California went into momma-bear mode and kicked some serious ass.

* * *

California let the nurse lead her down a hallway to Hawaii's room. When she walked in the door, tears sprung into her eyes at the sight of all the IVs and bandages layered over the young girl laying in the bed. Hawaii shifted to look at Cali, and held out a hand to her. Cali took it and sat down in a chair next to the bed. Singing a lullaby softly, Cali held in her own tears. Hawaii smiled weakly and said

"Cali? You're the best big sister ever."

With that, Hawaii's hand went limp, and for a moment, Cali panicked. She was only calmed once she heard the rhythmic beating of Hawaii's heart on the medical machine. She kissed Hawaii's petite hand, and then England walked in. Cali didn't notice him and said, meekly to herslef

"Oh Hawaii, you have no idea what I would do for you. After all, you're my little sister y te amo*."

She kisses her hand again and England clears his throat

"I'm so sorry, I hate to interrupt, but America would like to talk to you."

California turns around, putting Hawaii's hand back on the bed, then followed him down the hall, back to her room. America is on the phone, solemn and his lips aren't moving. He hangs up the phone, then looks at first Texas, then New York, then California. He sighs and says

"The United States of America has officially joined World War II"

* * *

Well, excuse me for being obsessed with Bad ass!California and there's more of her to come hopefully. I see her as a person who is super passive and sweet, but lay a hand on someone she loves and she'll mess you up. Anyways, thank you for your continued support. Believe it or not, it's hard to post a chapter everyday, yet I love it. It's fun homework, in a sense. Please review, leave suggestions too! Bye~!

*And I love you


	28. Love Expert?

"Hi! This is Cali, what can I do for you?!"

Alabama had to hold the receiver away from her face so Cali's large exclamation wouldn't damage her hearing. Then, she said, in her slight southern drawl,

"Hi California. This is Alabama. I was wondering if I could ask you for some advice."

Cali paused for a second, considering. She and Alabama didn't usually talk too much. Alabama spends her time with the the southern states, regarding California as a fellow state, rather than a friend.

"Well, that depends. What about?"

Nothing that California knows that Alabama doesn't comes to mind.

_What could this be for?_

"It's kinda embarrassing."

"Oh, don't be embarrassed around me!"

"Well, um... I like this guy, okay?"

"Oh...my GOD REALLY?! THIS IS GREAT! WHO IS IT?"

Cali loves playing matchmaker, it's her favorite pass time. New Mexico has gone on many blind dates because of it. She's squealing and grinning ear to ear in excitement As far as she knows, Alabama has never had a boyfriend, Cali half suspected that she was gay (then again, she thinks everyone is) so of course she needs advice.

"Umm that's personal."

Cali isn't stopped at this. She was rearing to go, but Alabama is so uneducated in the crush department.

"Fine. If you won't tell me, then what do you need?"

Alabama sighs and scratches her head.

_If I'm going to get any real advice, I'm gonna hafta' tell her_

"Tennessee. It's Tennessee, okay?"

Cali punched the air and mouthed the words 'I KNEW IT' before continuing

"Well Alabama, all I really know about Tennessee is that he loves guitars and country music, you could try that."

Alabama sighed and sat down in her big reclining armchair.

_I already knew that. Maybe California isn't a love-expert like everyone says._

"Thanks Cali. Any other ideas?"

"How about spending more time with him? Ask him out"

Alabama stutters, shocked by the request, and can't find a proper response.

"Okay, maybe not on a date or anything, unless you want to, but just invite him to hang out with you and some other people. Others will lift some off the pressure to talk."

Alabama thought for a minute.

_Not a bad idea. I just might have to try that. _

"Cali, that's actually pretty smart."

"Oh stop, you flatter me"

"You're much smarter than you act."

"Is that an insult or a compliment?"

"Compliment, trust me."

"Well okay, need anything else?"

"Nope. Thank you for everything!"

"Glad I could help. Goodbye and good luck! Let me know how it goes~!"

Cali made a little kissing noise into the phone before hanging up and relaxing onto her couch. Sacramento woke up from his nap, and walked over to snuggle into her lap. California patted him on the head, perfectly fine with the weight.

"Oh Sacramento. If only I could handle my own feelings that well. No matter how many hints I drop, he just won't get it!"

Sacramento growled in agreement and pushed his nose into her side. Cali giggled and scratched him behind the ears.

"At least I have my big fuzz ball here. You aren't a stupid boy like the rest of them, right?"

Sacramento cocks his head to the side, as if confused, which makes Cali giggle.

"I know you can't answer. Well, what should I do about Oregon?"

He licks his lips, then begins to rub his nose on her cheek.

"I would do that, but it would be risky. I would only reinforce the 'slut' misconception if I just walked up him and started to make-out with him. Any other ideas, big guy?"

Sacramento proceeds to fall off her, and pads into the kitchen. A few moments later, he comes back with a singular tulip in his mouth. He drops it at her feet, then drops onto his back and rolls around on the plush carpet. She gets off the couch and picks up the tulip, rubbing Sacramento's belly as she walked back to the kitchen to put it back in the vase (How did he get it down from there?). Taking a few seconds to rearrange the flowers, she continues talking to Sacramento

"Not a bad plan, flowers always work, but pretty plants don't insure he returns the feelings."

Sacramento huffs, then stretches out his big, furry paws so it looks like he's waiting to hug her. Cali walks back into the room, and coos over how cute he looks before laying down with him, wrapped in his pillowesque mane.

Sacramento can't understand her, well obviously he can't, he's a bear, no witchcraft here, but he can tell how she's feeling.

With some simple hand movements, that Cali taught him when he was younger, she can communicate stuff like 'dinner' and 'attack' but he always had a special sense of her emotions and the basics of what she's saying based on her tone.

If she's sad, he'll comfort her. It's one of the reasons he's so close to her.

* * *

Arizona opens the door to find California fast asleep on Sacramento's pelt. He smiles to himself, then goes over to the couch to pick her up. He didn't bother trying to be quiet, California can sleep through almost anything. She slept through a fireworks show, a 7.8 on the Richter scale, and a huge house party. In fact, the louder you are, the more likely she is to wake up.

He carefully picks her up, then proceeds to carry her upstairs to her bed. When he gets her under the covers, she instantly burrows deeper into them, still sleeping. Kissing her on the forehead, he goes over to the light switch. He's about to flip it off, when he hears her talking in her sleep.

"Oregon, I never knew you were such a charmer"

He narrows his eyes at the dreaming girl, not angry at her, but ready to go fire a few arrows at Oregon for wooing Cali. The logical part of his mind tells him that Oregon probably hasn't done anything. Unfortunately, the other part adds on a 'yet' to that. Now, all Arizona can do is turn off the light and leave Cali to her slumber. It pains him to hear her say,

"I love you, Oregon..."

* * *

Good, I'm done. Shorter than usual, but just cut me some slack, okay? I was kinda done with writing since my homework was to write 4 pages of just descriptions. It was brutal. By the way, I chose Alabama for this chapter because someone suggested I throw more of her in there and I was happy to oblige. Sorry for not using all the states, I have a limited knowledge of a lot of the states. So, if you want me to put in another one, give me some tips on what their personality or looks should be! Anyway, thank you for reading and reviewing, reviews are my fuel. Also, I appreciate any ideas you have, I'll run out of my own eventually. See you next time, bye!


	29. The Governors

"Congratulation, Mr. Burnett on becoming the first governor of California."

"We're not even an official state yet, but somehow I got elected."

Mr. Peter Burnett sat down at the desk in his new office. He set up a photograph of his wife, then leaned back in his chair.

His new assistant left the room, then came back in shortly with a young girl, around 14 or 15 years of age, and a tall young man with bright blue eyes and dirty blonde hair.

Peter took one look at the gorgeous young lady standing in his office and shook his head at the man with her.

"I'm sorry sir. I'm a politician, I don't use prostitutes."

The man sputtered, reassuring him that she was not a prostitute, while the girl huffed. She was close to slapping him, but he held her back by her wrist.

She tucked a strand of her light blonde hair behind her ear as he clarified.

"Mr. Burnett, I presume? Well, I'm here to give you a very secret, and important letter, straight from the president."

He held out an envelope that bared the official Presidential seal. Peter grasped the letter cautiously, and after opening it carefully, he read what it said inside

**Dear Peter Burnett,**  
**It is with great honor, I welcome you to your first year in office as the governor as California. Assuming that Alfred actually delivered it, you will now be bestowed in being apart of the most exclusive secret America has to offer. The two people standing with you, I believe, are both over 100 years old.**

Peter took a moment to re-read this sentence.

_He can't be serious. These two look no more than 20 years old. _

**I know this may come as a shock to you, but the man who delivered this very letter is the personification of The United States of America. The young lady with him is the personification of The Republic of California. **

Peter looked up from the parchment to take another glance at America and California. They looked perfectly normal to him.

_What if the president has lost it? What if these two are pranksters?_

**You will be watching over California for as long as you are governor. If you need further reassurance of their identity, I'm sure Alfred will gladly lift a buggy for you, or California can shake the ground. I hope we can make this country a better place together through the personifications. **

**Sincerely, **

**Millard Fillmore**

He closed the letter, and carefully set it down on his new desk. For a few seconds, everyone was silent. America smiled and said

"Do you have any questions?"

"Well, who exactly are you? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

America and California looked at each other in disappointment.

When your boss can tell who you are, or simply believes you, right away, it means he is going to be a great leader. George Washington could tell almost instantly, but most politicians need some convincing before they get it through their heads that they are the land.

America sighed and put a hand on his shoulder

"Look, I know it's a lot to take in, but you have the huge responsibility of being my little girl's first boss."

"Don't say it like that, I'm not a little kid anymore!"

America whispered to Peter

"She's just got a lot of daddy issues to work through right now with Mexico."

"I do not! I'm done with that loser, I don't need him!"

America rolled his eyes and said

"She's just pretty defensive right now. None of the east-coasters think she can be a successful state and the pressure is really getting to her."

Peter cannot find words to respond to this, so he just stands there, dumbfounded by the whole situation.

America pats her on the head

"Don't worry, Cali! I'm sure Pete here will be a great governor!"

California just turned around, waving and said

"Well, this has been fun, but I have some mining to do."

_I have a bad feeling about him_

* * *

During his inaugural speech, Cali was standing off to the side. Anxiously, she bit her nails, just waiting for him to slip up

"To be chosen Chief Magistrate of California at this period of her history, when the eyes of the whole world are turned toward her, is a high and distinguished honor,"

Cali's heart rate rises when he says 'she' which is quite a few times.

_What part of 'biggest secret in America' does he not understand?_

"She will either be distinguished among her sister States as one of the leading Stars of the Union, or she will sink into comparative insignificance."

Looking into the crowd, trying to spot America, a trickle of sweat runs down her neck

_Crap, what do I do? I can't have him blow everyone's cover too _

The risk of letting it slip that she's California, causes her to overlook all of the flattery he is spewing like a robot to the crowd

"California has her part to act in this great march of improvement, and whether she acts well her part or not depends much upon her early legislation."

_Oh whatever_. _Nobody thinks he's referring to an actual person anyway. Let's just hope this guy doesn't screw everything up._

Once his speech had ended, he stepped down from the platform he stood on, and smiled at California, who raised her eyebrow at him.

_He won't last one year out here._

* * *

She was sorta right. Burnett endorsed the idea of excluding blacks from California, which is totally not cool. After his first annual address received criticism from the people, he abruptly resigned from office on January 9.

The next governor she had was a little better. His name was John McDougal and he was the Lt. Governor at the time of Peter being in office. Lt. Governor is a little like the vice-governor, but also not. It's pretty weird.

The man himself was also pretty weird. McDougal was always trying to get California to duel him, he was enticed because he had an immortal dueling partner, but California did not like guns much. He tried to keep dueling legal in California, stating that those who dueled weren't fit to live and they would eventually kill each other off. Once his term was up, he was involved in two separate duels, wounding a newspaper editor in one, and getting arrested in the other. Go figure.

The man after him was called John Bigler. Didn't do too much, but the state's capital was moved to Sacramento, three new counties were formed, and the U.S. opened a branch mint in San Francisco. He was the one who suggested she name her bear Sacramento, also the first governor to actually like him and not run away terrified.

Soon John Neely Johnson took his place, trust me it was not easy for California to remember which John she was talking about, and during his term, the San Francisco county and city governments were combined, and California's first railroad was completed. Wells Fargo and Company opened an express office in Los Angeles, and the first wagon road was accessible over the Sierra Nevada Mountain.

While John B. Weller was in office, he supported making California an independent republic if the North and South separated over slavery. It was a tad bit unnerving to know that you boss was perfectly okay with splitting you in half.

Milton Latham left almost as soon as he was sworn in, going to join the senate instead.

Next up, Governor John G. Downey vetoed the "bulkhead bill," which would have allowed a monopoly ownership of San Francisco's waterfront, and the first telegraph line was connected linking the East and the West Coasts. The Civil War started during Downey's administration, and the legislature committed the state's support to the Union. So basically, her boss broke up with her then-boyfriend for her.

After him, was an amazing man named Amasa Stanford. During his tenure, he cut the state's debt in half, and he advocated for the conservation of forests. He approved several public grants, one of which provided financial to a railroad he had a personal interest in, the Central Pacific Railroad. Really, anyone who saves the forests is one of her favorites. After he left office, Stanford bestowed $30 million to a university in memory of his only child, who died at the age of 15, of typhoid fever. An enormous donation for a singular man.

Blah blah blah, skipping him, on to Henry Haight. During his term, the transcontinental railroad was completed and the Golden Gate Park was designed. The state debt was reduced under Haight's administration, and the State Board of Health and the University of California were established, both of which had only been in the planning stages prior to Haight's term.

Newton Booth and Romualdo Pacheco both left without accomplishing anything of real substance. Not that she cared.

William Irwin took charge and soon paper money was widely introduced and the Southern Pacific's Los Angeles-San Francisco line was completed. Irwin was the first to take California's advice and soon oranges from California were shipped to Eastern markets.

One two, skip a few, Robert Waterman doesn't split up California, now it's Henry Gage's turn. California gets sick, and the San Francisco bubonic plague breaks out, a controversy erupted with Gage publicly denying the existence of the plague, only to be proved wrong later by George Pardee, his successor, who quickly handled the matter.

Along with addressing San Fransisco's health issues, he made many advancements in conserving forest and water resources. Education issues were also addressed, with changes made in the state's funding of public high schools, and the initiation of a new textbook program. The earthquake that struck San Francisco on April 18, 1906, was the most difficult event he dealt with, but he stitched up her wound, and got her back on her feet. Literally.

When James Gillett came to power, automobile usage increased and Gillett worked in pioneering a state highway system. Food and drug legislation was passed, and several new state buildings were constructed, many of which were in earthquake-destroyed San Francisco. State financial reserves grew, and legislation was enacted giving the state control of the horse racing industry. He was the one who taught her how to drive, not that she did very well.

Mr. Hiram Johnson became her governor, railroads and utilities were regulated, and workmen's compensation and an eight-hour workday for women and children were passed into law. The Alien Land Law and the California Land Act were also enacted. She wasn't allowed to see Mexico very much after that, nor Japan, China, or Korea. She saw them anyway, though. A civil service system was initiated along with many independent state boards. Johnson, who advocated reform throughout his administration, was the first U.S. governor to present a cohesive state budget. When America wasn't looking, she stuck her tongue out at Michigan because of that.

William Stephens supported prohibition, and women were fighting for the right to vote. California did a few protests herself, along with some other female states, really upsetting Stephens and America. World War I had started, and Stephen's administration endured threats and bombings, though, in general, they stayed out of it.

Her next boss, Friend Richardson, approved the Colorado River Compact. Not only did she get to see her brother more, her constant and annoying thirst melted away because of the water that he gave her. Oil fields in Rosecrans and Inglewood were discovered, thickening her blood and getting more attention from America.

James Rolph work on the Colorado River Aqueduct started, construction on Boulder Dam was initiated, and the Olympic games at Los Angeles opened in 1932. She was stoked for that, and got to meet Greece for the first time. The Long Beach earthquake caused $60 million in damage, again, get out the first-aid kit. Rolph received criticism for signing legislation that caused taxes to fall unfairly on the poor, for endorsing a brutal jailbreak lynching in San Jose, and for openly ignoring prohibition laws. She was a little okay with the prohibition one, but the other two made her face-palm and cringe. One of his solutions for the financial misery during the Great Depression was for everyone to take a two-week holiday, which California thoroughly enjoyed, though, in retrospect, she probably should have stopped him. He wasn't one of the better ones.

With Frank Merriam in control, Alcatraz became a federal prison, the Golden Gate Bridge opened, and a transpacific airmail service was started, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge opened, work on the All-American Canal, an aqueduct, was initiated, and construction was started on Parker Dam. Basically, a bunch of new construction sites, and monuments. Governor Merriam also appointed a special committee to examine the corruption in political influences, leading California to do some sick investigation, even if Merriam told her to stop pointing the lamp's light in the politician's face.

With Culbert L. Olsen leading her into the start of World War II, California underwent a tremendous industrial growth with the federal government pouring billion of dollars into the state. Also during his tenure, a Japanese submarine shelled an oil field near Santa Barbara in February 1942. He was there to comfort her when she got really scared, like when there was a big scare in Los Angeles about an air-raid.

For hours, she sat in D.C, on the phone with Olsen, near tears. The thought of loosing one of her favorite city, was traumatizing and horrid. Not to mention how many people would've died. Only when America found her curled up on the couch, her pajamas stained with tears and the phone still clutched in her hand, fast asleep, did she get to bed. America carried her in, while she clutched his tank top, and sobbed into it.

She did get past the bad times, and onto Ronald Reagan some time later. She was the first governor who she knew before his position because of his movie career. Just imagine the shock he got when he found out who she really was. Though he didn't do too much for her, he later on went on to become the president. She was a little miffed about him moving on to bigger and better things, but she got over it.

Funny story, the governor after Reagan was actually her current governor, Jerry Brown. As governor back then, he had strong ideas about state spending and refused to live in the new governor's mansion, renting a modest apartment instead, and nixing the governor's limousine in favor of a state-issued Plymouth. He focused on energy efficiency and alternative power sources, sponsored and signed the first labor laws in the United States to protect farm workers, and signed into law the California Conservation Corps program. His appointments emphasized minorities and women, echoing the social awareness of his era. Gaining himself a lot of respect from California, who was all about equal rights and energy efficiency.

The man following him, was Gray Davis. Davis made record investments in health care and stood strong in protecting California's air and water. In addition, Davis signed into law the nation's first laws to reduce greenhouse gases, promote stem cell research, and reform HMOs. He also revived California's relationship with Mexico. Not that kind of relationship, strictly politics. I'm not saying Mexico didn't try anything, but California reminded him the real reason they were meeting with her pickax. Davis led the state in moving from the seventh to the fifth largest economy in the world. Slowly but surely, Davis got California from trying to punch Mexico in the face. That's the reason Mexico's so wary of her, he got a nasty black eye the first time they saw each other after she became a state.

Now, onto the one you've all been waiting for, Arnold Schwarzenegger. The governator himself. Yet another movie star to learn Cali's secret. Schwarzenegger's accomplishments as governor include a duel party agreement to reduce California's greenhouse gas emissions by signing landmark legislation in 2006, increasing the minimum wage while lowering the state's unemployment rate, and overhauling the workers' compensation system—cutting costs by more than 35 percent. Schwarzenegger made major investments in improving California's aging infrastructure through his Strategic Growth Plan, helping to reduce congestion and clean the air. Even through all that great stuff he did, California still can't help but snigger at least a little whenever she heard his accent, and constantly made him say 'I'll be back' even during important meetings.

That leaves us with Jerry Brown. Her current governor, just getting her through current events that range from the drought that's currently going on, to seeing Oregon. Unfortunately, Brown is fully aware of her crush on the northern state, and John Kitzhaber, Oregon's boss, is aware of Oregon's crush on Cali. After a short discussion, the two governors decided to let the two figure it out for themselves.

* * *

OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY! I did try to publish it yesterday, I promise, but it deleted half of all the work I did, so I just rage quit. Then, the universe plotted against me, thwarting me at every possible minute with Fan not working and Forced Family Fun Night. So, here you go. I did it. Over 3,000 words. Shout out to . and . because that's where I got all my info and I kinda plagiarized a lot of it. So, you guys get credit. Also, thanks to the Guest that gave me the idea if talking about all her bosses through the years! Thanks for your support, and please oh please review cause reviews make my day. Thank you! See you next time!


	30. Meeting

Little California wandered around her new house. It was huge. It had a radiator, something she didn't really need because of the heat, and a giant queen-sized bed.

The kitchen was stocked with all the food she would need. California had never known a lifestyle such as this.

_America had been so generous to get me this beautiful house_.

"America, I promise, I'll pay you back for all that you've done for me."

"Oh Cali, you've given us the best opportunity possible with all your gold veins. Consider is even."

That night, when Cali crawled into her plush new bed, she couldn't sleep. All these years she had slept in the trees, now being so close to the ground was a new sensation for her.

After an hour of tossing and turning, Cali eventually decided to climb up onto the roof. Tying her blanket around her neck, and sticking a pillow under her arm, she wiggled out the window and scooted up the storm drain.

The stars were shining, clear as ever, and soon, she felt comforted by the familiar feeling of touching the sky.

Though she detested flying, she loved the view. When she could hold onto something grounded, she felt just as safe as she would on the ground.

* * *

Once she woke up, she could hear America's panicked screams. He was calling her name, terrified after not finding her in her room. She threw down the blanket and pillow, not really caring if they made it back inside clean, and then hopped onto the ledge of her window.

When her feet made contact with the bricks, America jumped in surprise then went over to the window to pull her in.

He held her in his arms, squeezing her so tight, like he thought she was going to slip out of his grasp. Cali was confused by his alarm, and simply patted him on the head comfortingly.

"California Carrideo Jones, don't you dare ever do that again. Why on Earth were you on the roof?"

She shrugged and simply pointed at the trees outside, because she did not know much English.

America sat down in a rocking chair, putting the girl on his knee.

"I have something that might just be a little better than going up onto the roof."

Within a week, America had gotten a carpenter to construct California a loft bed. It was like a bunk bed, but instead of a bottom bunk, there was a desk. She loved this new piece of furniture. It was fun to climb, and she could work underneath it as well.

America was also very close to barring her window, but thought again when he saw how cleverly she could escape her own house through it. Not that he was paranoid or anything.

* * *

About a week later, America showed up at her door with a horse-drawn carriage behind him. She piled into it behind him, carrying her bear along.

They spent a very long time traveling. It was a month or so before they reached their destination. It was a grand meeting house. It had American flags flapping on every corner, and all the frills and trimmings possible.

As they got closer to the building, she could hear yells and screams from inside. It was rather terrifying to be headed in the direction they were coming from. America held her hand until they walked to a large, mahogany door. He patted her shoulder, then ushered her in.

"Say hello to everyone for me, Cali!"

The door was shut again, leaving California and her bear in the meeting room with all the other states.

The room fell silent as they all noticed the silent, mortified, 10 year old girl. She held her bear close, and stroked his pelt.

Another state, Delaware, stepped forward. He crouched down a little, so he was looking at her eye to eye, and then held out his hand. She looked at him, then his hand, back to him, let out a blood-curt long scream, and ran. While she ran, trying to find the closest thing she could climb, she yelled

"SON LOS INGLÉS! LOS INGLES ESTAN AQUÍ PARA LLEVARME! ALGUIEN AYUDE! ESPAÑA! MEXICO!*"

She eventually settled for climbing under the giant table in the center of the room. Pennsylvania then reached under the table, plucking up the squirming little state, who was still yelling in Spanish.

Some states tried to calm her down, but she just kept screaming.

"¡YO QUIERES A MI MEXICO! YO QUIERES A MI ESPAÑA!*"

Eventually, she got out of his grasp, then scrambles backwards. She bumped into Texas. She turns around, and then recognizes him.

"Tejas?"

He chuckles and responds

"Sì, chica. Well, I'm called Texas now, but yes."

"¿Por qué estás hablando en Inglés?*"

"I'm apart of America now, and so are you. You should start speaking English."

She shakes her head, whipping her blonde hair around adorably.

"No habló inglés. No quiero inglés*"

Rhode Island turned to Maine.

"What is she saying?"

Maine shrugged and said to him

"How am I supposed to know? I don't speak Spanish."

Texas turned to the group and told them

"She's just a little scared of you all. She doesn't know too much English."

California turns away from Texas then shouts out

"Garbage-speakers! I want America!"

Some of the states took offense at this, but Texas chuckled and explained

"Since she was raised by Spain, as I was, she was taught that the English are evil, it's nothing personal. Don't worry, she'll learn."

Virginia stepped forward, causing Cali to shrink back in fear, but Virginia pulls out her wand, then proceeds to use her magic to put a small flower in California's hair and give her a new dress, replacing the ratty old one she was wearing with one made of pure cotton and silk trimmings.

California's eyes widened in delight and she smiled before saying

"Eres una bruja? Una bruja buena?"

Texas chuckles while patting little Cali on the head. Virginia looks at Texas in confusion, so he explains

"She said 'you are a witch? A good witch?"

Virginia smiles as well and nods, leading California to squeal then pull out her little wooden whistle. She blew on it, causing her bear to crawl out from under the table and waddle over to her. He leans back on his hind legs, and licks her cheek. Then, he starts to growl at Texas. He only met Texas once, and it was when Texas had a gun in is hands, and was firing at them. Texas takes a step back, raises his hands to show he was harmless, and California does some odd hand gesture. Whatever California's weird signal meant, it calmed down the bear, and he plopped down at California's feet.

It took about 20 minutes to get through all the introductions before California stood up and said proudly

"Alta California!"

Then she paused a moment, thinking

"No, California!"

Nodding contently, and all the other states laughing at how adorable she was, she also introduced her bear.

"Este es mi oso. Oso es mi amigo.*"

Everyone half-heartedly said hello to the little bear, who just yawned, and curled up on Cali's lap for a nap.

* * *

When the meeting was over, America came back into the room. California ran to him, and jumped onto his back, speaking excitedly in Spanish, America only catching a word every now and then. He called Texas over, to explain the situation

"Texas, I know you're busy, but I would really appreciate it if you taught Cali English. I would myself, but I don't know Spanish like you do."

Texas, who had started to take a liking to the little girl, agreed quickly.

* * *

It was a long time before California completely got the hang of English, about a hundred years to be exact. In that time, she had matured greatly. Looking to be about 14 or 15 now, instead of the 10 she was many years ago.

The second meeting she went to, she was an official state, with a governor and everything. She waltzed into the meeting room, her bear following suit. Everyone was floored with how different she looked, her brownish-blonde hair now golden blonde. Her body had definitely developed, her hips gaining curves, and her chest expanding, I think you get the point. Her dress had been ditched for a pair of pants, a very controversial article of clothing for women, and a white blouse.

All the male states, and a few of the female states though they would never admit it, took a moment to take in her new appearance, before New Hampshire brought everyone to attention.

"Well, before we start, I would like to welcome California to the United States of America as our 31st state."

California smiled brightly, dazzling everyone in the room, and speaking in her slightly accented English

"It's a pleasure to be here. I would just like to thank you all for your support and help."

Her gaze fluttered over to Texas, who blushed and nodded sheepishly. New York glared over at Texas.

_Think again, Texas. She'll be mine, I swear._

Cali flipped her hair over her shoulder, then said

"Well, let's get started. I would just like to invite all of you to come visit anytime soon."

Michigan, who had already gotten sick of this new state, rolled her eyes and said

"Why, exactly, would we want to visit you?"

Cali smiled deviously,

"I'm glad you asked."

She pulled out a small pouch from her satchel, and dumped the contents on the table in front of her. Out pours a giant pile of gold dust and nuggets. She smirks and says

"Guess what I found in my land?"

Instantly, everyone is up on their feet. Connecticut, who was hosting the meeting, quickly dismissed everyone. He, along with everyone else, was already planning to get to California as soon as possible to get all they can.

California shoves the gold back into the pouch, puts the pouch in her bag, and then skips out the door, followed by all her fellow states.

* * *

Okay, so that was Cali's first meeting as a state, and a little back story for you. I love back story, possibly more than the actual plot. Thanks to Where's the mayo for correcting my Spanish! Thank you for reading, please review!

*IT'S THE ENGLISH! THE ENGLISH ARE HERE TO TAKE ME! HELP ME! SPAIN! MEXICO!

*I WANT MY MEXICO! I WANT MY SPAIN!

*Why are you speaking in English?

*I don't speak English. I don't want English.

*This is my bear. The bear is my friend.


	31. Different Perspectives

"It has come to my attention that recently, some of our male representative haven't been completely fair to our ladies."

The president took a moment to look around the room, mainly at Georgia, Indiana, and Minnesota. He had called the states and America to a meeting, so all the states were actually quiet and listening, for once. The president doesn't mess around.

"Also, the ladies can be a tab inconsiderate to our gentlemen. So, as an exercise that will hopefully bring you understanding and more perspective, I have asked Norway if he would lend us his magic. If all goes correctly, he will swap your genders."

All the peace that was in the room a moment ago is severed when he announces this. America is calm at first, until he realizes that he is included in this experiment. Then tables are flipped and papers are thrown, before California steps up to the front of the room, and taps the table with her pick. Well, 'taps'. She really slams it down, really hard, almost cracking the wood in the process. Everyone freezes mid-pandemonium, all knowing the ruthless Mr. Pickax all too well.

"Well, I for one think this is a great idea. It's about time we all gained more knowledge of each other. Besides, I'm rather curious, to be honest. I think you all are too."

She gained some support from the others, but most still were very against it. Then, Norway walks into the room and says something to the president that everyone else can't hear. The president clears his throat, and tells everyone

"He's prepared to do it now. If you would all brace yourselves-"

"Hold on Mr. Prez, he's casting it now?"

"Yes, Maryland, now."

Norway pulls out an old leather-bound book, and mutters a long incantation. The states and America all feel their skin start to vibrate and glow, and a sudden flash of blinding light streaks through the room.

When the room went back to normal, all the states had swapped genders. Texas had to pull her coat around her chest, so they wouldn't stick out, California's shirt was ripping, America's shirt was hanging off her now slim shoulders, and many others had to quickly adjust their clothes to fit their new identity.

Norway quickly closed his book, and then quietly walked out of the room, not bothering to say anything else.

The first thing Cal noticed was the sudden lightness of his upper body. Also, a sudden weight of his lower body. He tore off his shirt before it exploded. The shirt was much to small to hold his new 6-pack and pecs. Even in the other gender, California was still gorgeous. His hair was much shorter now, and seemed to stick up straight into the air, as if it was gelled, and the red tips still stained the ends of the strands. His legs and chest were both hairless, though he supposed that was left over from being a girl. Speaking of his legs, they were as toned as ever, but a lot larger and more muscly than the slender ones he sported before. They were shown off under the short-shorts that he was wearing. He made a mental note to buy some boxers later, but overall, he was rather pleased with his new form.

He looked around the room at his colleagues, who were not as pleased as he was with their new forms. The boys especially seemed to be taking it rather difficultly. Texas's chest had grown so much, she was hunched over in pain, and New York was running her fingers through her now long hair.

_Oregon still looks as adorable as ever, though._

Her cheeks were now a little rounder, but her body still modest and her shy smile still present.

America walked to the front of the room, her dirty-blonde hair swinging back and forth as she made her way to the president. She whispered something to him, something that sounded extremely urgent, but Cal couldn't make out exactly what he was saying because of all the chatter from the states. The president nodded and gestured her out. He then said into the microphone,

"You all are excused. This new form will only last one week, don't worry. I've emailed all of you a check list of things I expect you to do in that time, and failure to do so will result in discipline. Don't forget that I have eyes everywhere."

He said the last word rather ominously, but Cal disregarded it and slung his purse over his shoulder.

_This is going to be interesting._

* * *

Cal spent a good hour or so shopping for new clothes to wear that week. I'm sure it was quite a sight to see a 20 year old man walking around in denim booty shorts and no shirt. Then again, this is the Bay Area, it screams crazy. It took a minute for him to totally understand what had happened when a random guy gave him his number.

After a round of shopping at multiple shops, mostly surf shops to be honest, Cal was sporting a Riptide tank top, and a new pair of red swim trunks. When he got home, he saw that he had two new messages on his home phone.

_Hey Cali, or Cal i guess now. This is Texas. I was just wondering if you could take me shopping, or something. Sounds weird, but I'm not totally sure how this whole thing works. Thanks, bye._

Cal quickly pulled out his phone and texted Texas to meet him at Fashion Island, a mall, at 2pm, and then checked the other message.

_Cali, this is Jerry, I'm gonna need you to come into the office to meet some officials from Brazil. Don't worry, it won't take to long. Call me back whenever you get this message so we can set up the meeting. Bye._

Cal called him back right away and told him about his current dilemma as a man, but still promised he would come in around 11am or so the next day. He then went to check his email for the to-do list from the president. It said as follows.

**1. Shop for new clothes.**

**2. Take public transportation for at least a mile.**

**3. Meet with your boss.**

**4. Go to a bar for at least 30 minutes. The only exception to this is Hawaii.  
**

The list was rather odd, but he checked off new clothes, then went to take the bus to Fashion Island.

* * *

Texas had decided to take a plane to California as her form of public transportation instead of her usual private jet. It was a long line, and it was stuffy on the plane. Also, she noticed the way all the people looked at her now. The men gawked at her chest, even with it being sufficiently covered and bound, and the women scoffed at her and rolled their eyes.

_Do they really think they can judge who am from just looking at me? Holy crap, does Cali have to deal with this all the time? _

She found her seat and sat down. Unfortunately, immediately after she sat, a greasy-looking man came and sat right next to her. She had hoped for a quiet trip reading her book, but apparently he wanted to chat.

"So, why are you going to California?"

She didn't set her book down, but responded anyway

"Visiting a friend"

"Cool, cool, so where are you from?"  
She rolled her eyes internally, and said flatly

"Texas. Where do you think?"

"Awesome, awesome."

_Is he even listening?_

Using her peripheral vision, she peeked over at the man.

His gaze was most decidedly not on her face, but a little bit lower. Feeling her cheeks heat up, Texas took her book and slapped him, really hard, across the face.

Crossing her arms and adjusting her jacket over her large bust, Texas settled back down in her seat as the plane began to take off.

* * *

Cal had a pleasant trip on the bus. No one stared at his body, most girls only blushed and/or winked at him, and not one person tried to touch him.

Stepping off the bus and in front of the Nordstroms by the entrance, he spotted Texas. She looked extremely uncomfortable in her usual jeans and button-up white shirt that was bursting at the seams.

Skipping over, delighted because of how painless is was to jump now, he crushed Texas in a hug. Texas was trapped and almost popped a button off her shirt at the added pressure, but luckily Cal let go. Texas looked at him, confused at the sudden attraction she felt. It was different from the one she felt before, a more romantic one.

Flamboyantly, Cal told her, while throwing his hands in the air,

"Welcome to Fashion Island! The best mall in Southern California!"

Before Texas could tell him to quiet down, he grabbed her hand and led her inside. She was reluctant to go in at first, but Cal's grip on her hand was so relaxing, for whatever reason.

The first store they visited was Victoria's Secret. Texas was stuck by the sheer amount of pink in the store, but Cal waltzed right it, ignoring the odd looks he got. He had been in this store a million times, even modeled for them, but not as a guy. They quickly found a attendant to help them, and she whisked Texas away to a closed off room.

"What are you- oh my god what are you doing!"

"Calm down sweetie, I'm just taking your measurements. Size D."

Texas stumbled out of the room, holding her chest protectively. Cal laughed teasingly, and led her over to a display of bras.

"Well, you should probably get a sports bra for now, it will help with the pain."

Texas looked up at Cal, noting that Cal was slightly taller than her now.

"Pain?"

"Yeah! Haven't you noticed if you move around to much they hurt?"

"I guess"

Cal selected a few white sports bras, and then walked over to the panties.

_How can he do this so casually? Even if I'm a girl, this is uncomfortable for me._

After purchasing the undergarments, Cal handed them to her and told her to put them on in the girl's restroom.

Texas did feel better after changing into them. Now she could actually move without bursting her shirt.

"Much better."

Cal smiled and nodded

"I thought so. Now, let's get you some proper clothes."

Texas frowned and looked down at her current clothes.

"What's wrong with mine?"

Cal grimaced as he surveyed her outfit.

"It's nothing personal, but those clothes are far too manly for your present bod. Don't worry, we'll go to Forever 21!"

* * *

In the Forever 21, Cal looked around for something cute while babbling on about crop-tops or something.

A group of teenage girls walked by the two and one of them called out

"You two are such a cute couple!"

Texas blushed and responded

"We're not dating."

The same girl sipped her Starbucks, then said

"Well, you might want to make a move soon, honey. She seems to have her eye one him."

There was in fact a girl talking to Cal. Turning away from the girl, Texas strode over to Cal. The girl he was talking to giggled at something he said and stared dreamily into his eyes.

Texas grabbed Cal's hand and yanked him away, leaving the girl alone by the rack of shirts.

"Ow, Aus, what was that for?"

"Aus?"

"Yeah, I can't call you Austin, right? What should I call you? You can still call me Angel."

Texas thought for a moment

_Right, human names. What should mine be?  
_

"How about Samantha?"

"OMG, Sam it is! I love it!"

* * *

After a lot of convincing, pleading, and puppy-eyes, Cal finally got Texas into a skirt.

When she stepped out of the changing room, Cal's jaw hit the floor. She looked really good in the denim mini-skirt Cal picked out. Once Cal got past the initial shock of how gorgeous she looked, he smiled smugly and said

"I've done it again."

Texas looked at him quizzically and asked

"Does it look good? I feel ridiculous."

"Oh hon, you look fab! What else could you expect from my expertise!"

Texas smiled and then went back to change into her pants so they could buy the clothes. Cal had decided to let the shirt she was wearing slide because it was the only way she would agree to try the skirt.

* * *

Once they paid for the clothes, Cal bought them both Pink berry as a treat. They sat by a fountain, casually talking for a while

"So, how has being a girl turned out for you?"

Texas sighed, then went off on a tangent

"Well, first I could barely move because of the two watermelons strapped to my chest. Then, on the plane ride over, some creep was staring at me weirdly. It was so uncomfortable wherever I went because of my hair weighing down my head. How about you?"

"Well, I went shopping for clothes and found these sick pants with actual pockets. None of my pants have sick pockets like this, I don't even have to carry my purse anymore because of all the pockets in this bad boy. Also, I rode the bus for the first time with no one trying to touch me or stare at me like the way the guys on the plane did."

Texas was taken off guard when Cal started laughing

"What are you laughing at?"

Cal stopped laughing when he saw the offended look on her face

"It's just, all these years I've had to deal with this crap. Trust me, you don't know the half of it. Just thank your lucky stars that it's just a week, not a month."

"What do you mean?"

Cal did not look the least bit uncomfortable as he responded

"Cramps and blood really ruin your day. Not to mention the glass ceiling, shaving everything, make-up, and having to stay skinny on top of all the cravings. Add that to my everyday work load, and it's pretty taxing"

Texas was quiet for a second before responding

"I had no idea."

Cal put an arm around her shoulder lazily, meaning to be comforting, but sent tingles up Texas's spine instead. She relaxed into his chest, calmed by his presence.

"How could you? Just because you don't see from everyone's perspective doesn't make you a bad person."

Texas smiled and looked up at Cal's face. The sun had started to go down, casting a shimmering glow over his features. His blue eyes sparkled and he smiled, making Texas notice his chiseled chin.

Texas sighed dreamily when Cal said

"This has been really fun, Tex. I'm glad I could spend the day with you."

Texas grabbed his hand, startling Cal, but he relaxed after a moment. Cal is not to good at picking up social cues, as you can tell.

"Me too."

Cal suddenly stood up, almost knocking Texas over into the fountain, but he caught he and pulled her back up

"Sorry, I almost hit you it, huh?"

Texas smiled again and waved it off

"It's nothing, thanks for catching me."

Tipping an imaginary hat, Cal picked up the shopping bags and jokingly stuck out his elbow. Texas giggled (wait, giggled?) before grabbing his arm and standing up.

* * *

They took the bus back to Cal's house. Cal sat right next to her, warding off some off the people who would've probably cat-called at her. Texas was very thankful for that.

At Cal's house, they were trying to decide what to eat for dinner.

"Well, we could get In-In-Out."

A look of confusion crosses Texas's face.

"What's In-In-Out?"

Pretending to be extremely insulted, and gasping sharply, Cal says

"Why, only the best burger place in the world! C'mon! Let's go!"

They go into Cal's car, Cal driving and Texas in the passenger seat. They played music on the radio and sang along. Cal's voice was still very good but much deeper than the soprano he was a little while ago.

The In-In-Out was packed, as it always is. They talked for a while, never on the same subject for more than a minute, finding many topics to cover. It was a while before they even got their food, but once they did and started to eat, Texas's eyes got wide as dinner plates.

Cal couldn't help but laugh as Texas quickly scarfed down the whole burger at such a speed, it would make America proud.

Once Texas was done, and wiped her face with her sleeve, did she realize that Cal was staring at her.

"What? It was really good, okay?"

Cal nodded knowingly before picking up his burger, vegetarian of course, preparing to take a bite.

"Remember what I said about cravings? Well, I come here all the time. I'm fully aware that it's good."

Texas laughed and munched on some fries, that were also really good.

* * *

When they got back to Cal's house, it was about 8pm because they had stopped to get smoothies on the way back.

Both sipping on their drink and laughing, they stepped inside. Cal flashed her his bright smile that puts Colgate commercials to shame. Texas blushed and smiled meekly back.

"You know, I can't remember the last time we just hung-out like this."

Texas nodded in agreement

"It's always been some forced vacation, meeting, or diplomatic affair."

Cal lifted up his drink and said triumphantly

"Well, we have another week off to do whatever we want. Let's make it count"

* * *

There we go! Done for today. Here's a long chapter for you. For those who are wondering, yes this is going to be a series. I have been wanting a gender-bent version of Cali for a while now, and I'm considering making a spin-off series for him. Also, I have a 2p! story in the works for our blonde-crusader, so let me know if that's something you would like to see. 2p!Cali is far from being like Cali, so it's pretty fun to write for the both of them. Thanks, as usual, for you support and love, it makes my day. Please review, and see you next time!


	32. Gender-bend Siblings

"So, what do you want to do today?"

Cal scratched his head,

"Well, I should probably check-up on my brothers to see how they've adjusted. Also I need to see how cute Hawaii looks now. We only have two more days in this body, you know."

Texas shrugged and polished off the rest of her coffee

"Sure, whatever you want."

Cal smiled and took his plate to the sink.

"Peter?"

There was no response from the AI. Cal sighed and said again, but in a higher, more feminine tone,

"Peter?"

"Yes, Miss California?"

Texas jumped at the disembodied voice, still not used to the all-knowing computer in Cal's house.

"Get my brothers on the phone. Hawaii too."

Instantly, they heard a dial tone over the speaker and Cal explained to Texas that Peter wasn't configured to the gender change yet.

"Hello?"

"Yo!"

"Are we in another family call?"

"I think so, Utah."

"Hmm..who is this? Who am I? Where am I? Where's the whiskey?"

"Yes?"

Cal laughed at their responses and told them.

"Okay dudes, or dudettes and dude I guess, I call a family meeting at my place. Has everyone got new clothes? If you don't, you can borrow some of mine. Texas is here too BTW."

Texas said a little hello, before Arizona's still calm voice said

"I'll be there in a few hours. Stay safe."

Everyone else agreed to come as well and hung up shortly after.

Cal ran upstairs to go change out of his pajamas, leaving Texas to sit at the table, reading the news in silence.

In a matter of minutes, Cal was back downstairs, now dressed, and bouncing all over the place. He was extremely excited to see his family gender-bent and could barely wait.

* * *

A few hours or so later, everyone had gotten to Cal's house. When he noticed the sad state of their outfits, he ushered them upstairs to her closet.

Closet it an understatement, it was an old ballroom he had just gathering dust, and renovated it. Thousands of shirts, dresses, skirts, pants, shorts, and accessories were at their disposal. Arizona carefully edged into the room, followed soon after by Cal and the rest of the family. Hawaii's eyes got wide as he saw all the different outfits, but the others had mixed reactions.

Arizona scowled at every skimpy dress she saw, New Mexico covered her nose as to not smell the rich perfume in the air, Utah went over to a plush loveseat to just watch the makeovers Cal had planned, Colorado immediately went to try on the snow gear, and Nevada pulled everything with sequins on it off the racks.

Cal snapped his fingers, bringing everyone to attention, and pulled a tape measure from a drawer by the door. After taking Arizona's measurements, ignoring the protests when she wrapped her arms around her chest, Cal went over to a giant dresser and pulled some underwear from one of the drawers. She simply flung it at Arizona, the garments accidentally landing on her head, then shooed her behind a screen to change.

While Arizona begrudgingly put on the bra, Cal went over to a clothes rack, and pulled off a white, cotton, t-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts.

"California?"

"One sec!"

Grabbing a bead necklace off one of the hooks, Cal threw the outfit to Arizona. Then he measured New Mexico, and got her the appropriate undergarments as well. Cal picked out a tan tank top and high waisted denim shorts for her. Arizona stepped out from the screen, and Cal squealed when he saw her

"OMG Ari, you look rockin'!"

Arizona sighed, and then sat down next to Utah on the loveseat. Hawaii ran up to Cal and tugged on his shirt

"Is it my turn?"

Cal bit his lip and said

"I'm not sure if I have anything for you, sweetie."

Hawaii was let down, but Cal quickly pulled a shark-tooth necklace off the hook and draped it around his neck. Hawaii's eyes lit up as he looked at the jewelry.

Colorado walked up to Cal in defeat.

"Well, might as well get it over with. This is better than a trip to the underwear store, anyway"

Cal assigned her underwear as well, then selected a black, v-neck shirt with a pair of ripped jeans. Colorado shrugged and took the clothes as New Mexico got out from behind the screen.

New Mexico held the ends of the shorts, like if she pulled enough they would get longer, and pulled up her shirt's low neckline.

"Oh come on Mexy, it's fashion! You look great!"

New Mexico still was playing with the hem of her new shorts while Cal got Nevada situated with her clothes. Colorado looked perfectly at ease in her clothes, with them being a bit more modest than what Cal had given out so far.

"Awwwwww, but Caaaaaaaaaal I've always wanted to wear a fancy sequin dress, and now I have the boobs for it!"

Cal planted a hand on his hip, still in the girly habits he used to have, and thrust out the t-shirt and short shorts.

"No way am I letting you out of this house in that ridiculous impulse-buy!"

"I won't leave the house in it"

"Okay then, no way am I letting you even touch that monstrosity!"

After shoving Nevada behind the screen with the outfit Cal had chosen, he walked over to the vanity and picked up a pair of shimmery rainbow earrings.

"These outta satisfy her desire for the tackiest things on Earth."

* * *

"Presenting, the 5 lovely sisters of the West!"

Arizona stomped down stairs, brushing past Texas, who stood in the hallway, and stalked into the living room. Nevada, however, posed and flung her arms out, whacking New Mexico, who tripped down the steps, dragging along Utah and Colorado along with her. They all landed in a heap at the bottom of the stairs.

Immediately, Texas steps forward to help, but Cal says

"A little shaky on the landing, but beautiful form!"

Nevada cracks up laughing and says

"A perfect score! The Americans have won gold in falling! Take that Russia!"

Utah pushes Colorado off her, then takes a deep, mocking bow. Colorado is still laying on the floor laughing like an idiot, but is kicked gently by New Mexico to get up.

Texas is pleased by the humor of the group, obviously this sort of thing happens quite often.

"Hey Ari! Did you see that? They totally wiped-out!"

Hawaii bounds down the steps and into Cal's waiting arms and looked at Arizona, who held a glass of ice water in her hands. Ari raised her eyebrows and ever so slightly, cracked a smile. New Mexico called out, jokingly

"So the tin man does have a heart! I want to see the wizard now!"

Arizona's smile only grew as she retorted

"Maybe he can give you a brain"

Cal laughed and set down Hawaii. The group was laughing at Arizona's joke, and Texas was marveling at how witty she was in private Suddenly, she felt like she was intruding in a family moment. She took a step back and lowered her gaze.

Cal took notice almost right away and said to her

"Yo Tex, what's wrong?"

Texas smiled at Cal's worried face and waved away his concern

"It's just, I don't to many family moments like this with Mississippi and Alabama. I guess I just feel out of place."

Cal smiled and rolled his eyes

"You can be apart of this family too, you know. I'm sure you and New Mexico already are close, with you two being neighbors and all."

New Mexico joined the conversation at the mention of her name.

"Actually, we never see each other. I'm always with you wackos, and she never invites me to anything."

Texas rubs the back of her neck,

"It's nothing personal"

"Oh no, I never took it badly. I don't think I would have any time to do something with you anyway with my current family."

Cal smiled devilishly and Utah took a step away from him

"I haven't seen that face since-"

"Since the Great Paintball War of '03"

Colorado interrupted.

"I have an idea."

Cal said triumphantly

"You're ideas are never good, Cal."

"Shut up Mexy, I promise I won't break anyone's nose this time. I was just thinking that we should go to Knott's Berry Farm, but if you don't want to go that's fine."

The group took a collective gasp, Hawaii cowering in fear, Arizona holding her stomach, remembering the Xcelerator all to well. Texas had only heard about the amusement park, but she had her fair share of the terror that is thrill rides.

"Cal, the last time you took us there, you forced us on the Boomerang five times in a row, and Hawaii got chased by someone in a monster mask."

"For the last time, that was during Knott's Scary Farm, and they're all paid to do that spooky stuff!"

Hawaii almost burst into tears so Cal had to choice but to trash the Knott's Berry Farm idea. Cal eventually just lets them outside to his magnificent backyard to hang-out in the sun.

* * *

The flowers are in full bloom, and the air is infused with the sweet scent of the crops he grows himself. He takes a blanket, and lays it down on a grassy hill a little past the garden. He lays down on it on his stomach, sighing in delight when he can comfortably lay there without needing to roll onto his back.

Utah finds a Frisbee, and flings it at the back of Nevada's head, who quickly polishes off the last drop of her Guinness, and chucks it back.

Soon everyone is caught up in a big game of rapid catch, except Cal and Texas who both retire on the blanket.

Texas leans back on her hands, and looks at Cal, who had removed his shirt because of the heat. It's only a matter of time before Arizona throws a fit and makes him put it back on. For now, Texas just resists the urge to run her hands up and down his back to avoid a Frisbee to the face.

Cal chuckles as he watches Colorado throw New Mexico into his fountain, and goes to pluck a couple of oranges off a nearby tree. He hands one to Texas, who is wary at first, but eventually grabs the fruit from his hands. Their fingers meet, if only for a second, and Texas's breath hitched. She's sure she's blushing as she peels the warm skin off the orange, pushing thoughts of undressing Cal the same way out of her mind.

The instant she bites into the juicy fruit, a burst of flavors erupts in her mouth, taking her by surprise. Greedily taking another bite, Cal says

"First In-In-Out, now my oranges, I think you may have a thing for West-Coast food."

Texas slumps her shoulders, recrossing her legs, and sticks her tongue out at him.

Falling back into a comfortable silence they so often found together, Texas scooted closer to Cal. He failed to notice her presence, and just smiled wider at his family turning a game of catch, into a game of tackle football.

He puffed out his chest idly, as he took a deep breath in. Texas placed a hand on top of Cal's, and Cal turned to her, eyes wide with shock.

Texas kept her gaze forward, and Cal was close to removing his hand

_I'm sure she put it here on accident._

but then Texas gripped it more firmly.

_Okay, so not an accident. What should I do? It would be rude to move it away from her, but I don't want to give her the wrong idea.  
_

_I can't believe it, I'm holding his hand! Okay, maybe I did make the first move, and maybe I am cutting off his circulation, but York is falling behind. Not to mention, I have the power of feminine charm now. _

Texas batted her eyelashes, and leaned over on Cal's shoulder.

Cal was frozen. He sat there, frozen and rigid, terrified of Texas trying anything else.

_I know I've given Arizona a hard time all these years, but now would be a great time to switch into over-protective mode, Ari!  
_

Arizona happened to look up at the two at that exact moment, and sees Texas cuddling into Texas and a familiar expression on Cal's face. He mouths the words 'Help me' to her, and she drops the disc, and trudges up the slope.

"California Carrideo Jones, I don't care if you do have a masculine form, that is no reason to go running around topless! Put your shirt on right this minute and come down here before I go up there after you!"

Cal lets out a silent breath of relief, before detaching himself from Texas and putting his shirt back on. At first he walks down the hill, but when that proved to be too slow, he lays down and rolls the rest of the way down. Everyone is laughing good-naturedly as Cal gets back up on his feet and smiles a goofy smile at Ari, who smiles a teensy bit. Cal nods in thanks to Ari and Ari winks at him.

For once, Arizona had nagged Cal, but for his sake more than hers.

* * *

Oh goodie I'm done! I've given myself quite the workload with my stupid 'chapter everyday' thing. When I start posting new stories, that's probably going to change to a chapter every-other day. Anyways, I've noticed that you guys really want Cali to get laid, for whatever reason, but I'm also pretty curious who you want it to be with. Who knows, maybe the most popular request will get it's own story. Thanks for you support, please review yadda yadda you know the drill. See you next time!


	33. At the Club

Cal got up and immediately got dressed. His family had gone home yesterday, apparently, but the slight hangover he was nursing means that he lost beer pong.

Again.

Nevada is way too good at that for his own good.

Grabbing a Gatorade from the fridge, Cal noticed that Texas was no where to be seen. There was a note on the fridge that said,

**Cal,**

**I'll be out for a little while. I needed to pick up some supplies.**

**-Texas **

Cal threw away the note and sat down that the table. He debated making breakfast, but the clock on the microwave told him that it was much too late for that. Lunch was the next best option.

He got out some ingredients, and began to make a small pizza. Using his ripe tomatoes, rich wheat, and creamy cheese he bought from a farmers market not too long ago, soon the pizza was cooking in the oven.

It filled the house with a delicious scent, causing Sacramento (who had recognized Cal's scent and not attacked, luckily) to wonder into the kitchen to get himself something to eat. Cal laughed at the curious bear, and tossed him part of a tomato. He greedily chomped down on it and made himself comfortable on the couch.

* * *

The pizza was only cooling by the time Texas got home. She was carrying a small shopping bag over her arm, and Cal's car keys in the other.

"Hope you don't mind, but I used your ride. I would've filled it up, but I couldn't find the gas gauge"

"Well yeah, it doesn't use gasoline."

Texas raised her eyebrows in surprise,

"Really? So that's why it was so quiet. That thing has some serious punch for being an electric."

"I'm guessing you didn't plug it in"

Cal stepped out to the garage and stuck a thick cord into the front of the car. The car beeped, and then blue lights on the dash board began to flash, indicating that it was charging.

Texas watched this display is surprise. She had never seen a car that used no gas, she's driven a hybrid once or twice, sure.

"Hey Cal, doesn't that use up a lot of electricity?"

"Not if you have solar panels"

There were, in fact, giant strips of metal of Cal's roof. The thought that they were solar panels never even crossed her mind.

_Of course he has solar panels. He gets a lot of sun all the time. Not to mention his giant 'save the Earth' tendencies._

Sacramento huffs slightly in his sleep, drawing the attention to him.

"You really just let him lay there on the couch?"

"Hey, if you want to wake up the two ton fuzzy beast from his nap and make him move, be my guest."

Cal smiles smugly and turns back to his now cooled pizza. He pulls a slice from the rest, stretching out the gooey cheese. It let out a little puff of steam, then Cal bit into it.

Tentatively taking a slice, Texas joined him.

"So, what do you say to finishing off the check list, seeing as we only have one more day."

It was true they had both completed their lists except the "go to a club" one. Texas is extremely wary of clubs, but is comforted by Cal because he had more experience in this department.

They spent the majority of the day just lounging about, and Texas roped him into a game of poker. Texas was amazed by Cal's impressive gambling skills, and when she asked about it, he told her,

"Ever been to Vegas? Well, Nevada drags everyone there at least once a year. Those trips forced me to learn fast, or go broke."

* * *

The sun was just starting to drip down under the horizon, when Cal brought Texas up to his giant closet.

"Oh my goodness Cal, it's huge! Why on Earth do you need so much clothes?"

"I vowed, long ago, to never wear the same outfit twice in one month."

Cal took her measurements, not even noticing Texas's blush when he wrapped his arms around her chest, scribbling down figures on a clip board. He spent a long time walking up and down the rows upon rows of clothes. He was about to select a short, pink, and strap-less dress, but his eyes wondered over a few racks, and spotted the perfect dress.

He gasped, threw down the other dress, and straight up climbed over the rack he was standing at to get to it. Texas stifled a laugh as he twirled in place, holding out the dress and shouting,

"IT'S PERFECT!"

He walked over to Texas giddily, examining the dress as he went. It was a forest green, floor-length dress. With a singular strap, Texas supposed it would suffice.

Cal got down on one knee, and lowered his head while handing her the dress,

"My lady, I had searched far and wide on my quest for your slammin' dress and, after many years, I have finally found it. Go put it on! I wanna see!"

Texas took it from him, and went behind the screen. The dress was a new feeling, that's for sure. It was different from a skirt, longer and heavier, and it comfortably cascaded down to the tops of her feet. She walked to a full length mirror, and took a moment to simply look at herself.

_Cal has excellent taste. _

The color went nicely with her green eyes and braided brown hair. The neckline wasn't low cut, but simply sat at just the modest spot. She twirled around, examining every fold of fabric, until Cal came up with a gold necklace that gave the illusion that it was shimmery woven rope and began gushing over how good she looked.

As he clasped the necklace around her neck, she soaked up every compliment, relishing the attention that Cal was showering her with.

_He looks pretty good himself_

He wore a gray button-up shirt, accompanied by simple black slacks and a brown belt. It looked stylish and relaxed, like he put thought into the clothes but not trying too hard.

"I have to say, it took much longer to get ready to go out before."

"What do you mean? It took me that same amount of time as you."

Cal shook his head, and led her over to the vanity that stood in the corner.

"We've only just begun."

* * *

When Cal spun the chair back around to face the mirror, Texas was stunned by the new face she saw in it.

It was definitely hers, but more perfect. Not a flaw was on her face, her cheeks bore a light blush, and her eyelids were now dusted with a light red, accenting the dress nicely.

Cal took out the braids in her hair, and re-braided them. Now they were more symmetrical, and a tad tighter, but not too tight to make her feel strained.

"Cal, wow. I mean, I look completely different."

"Oh no, I just used the make-up to accentuate the beauty you already had."

Texas sat in silence for a moment, mulling over this new definition of make-up.

She then stood up, head held high and began walking over to the door. Cal grabbed her shoulder,

"Hold on, one more thing"

He went over to another rack and brought back a pair of dark blue high-heels. Texas shot down that idea right away, fearing the tall, pointy, feet torture-devices. Cal rolled his eyes and put on the shoes himself. His now wide feet barely slipped into the thin sole. He marched around, very balanced, and told her,

"Well, if you don't like them, I guess I'll have to wear them. You can wear my dress shoes."

Texas laughed at his flamboyant display, and begrudgingly agreed to wear the contraptions. She wobbled for a few seconds, before falling into Cal's large arms. She clung to him, desperately trying to regain her balance, and Cal just held her still until she was ready.

He radiated heat, making Texas wish they could stay like that forever, but of course Cal let go when she felt steady.

After some trial and error, Texas finally got the hang of the shoes.

"You know, I don't see what you're always complaining about, this is easy!"

"Those are my 3-inch heels, I can bust out the 8-inch ones if you want"

Texas flushed and lowered her head,

"Okay, fine. I'm still new to this."

* * *

It was dark when they arrived at the club. The line outside was long, but before Texas could go to the back, Cal walked up to the bouncer and told him,

"I'm in the know, you know? Gotta know who's in the know to get in now."

The bouncer smiled, recognizing the secret code used by the most elite of California, and ushered the two inside.

"I'm so used to you 'knowing a guy' I'm not even surprised."

Cal laughed and lazily slung an arm around her shoulders.

The club itself was loud, dark, and smelled of alcohol and sweat. Texas recoiled, trying to get away from the awful stench, but Cal held her tightly, and took her over to the bar. He ordered them some drinks, then turned to her,

"I don't usually like to go here either. Hopefully you won't have to see why. Let's just have a few drinks, and then leave this place."

The bartender returned with their drinks, and Cal sipped his gently. Texas looked down at the glass, and noticed something odd,

"How do you know my favorite drink?"

Cal smiled and shrugged,

"Not totally sure. It just seemed familiar."

Texas put her elbows on the bar, and drank a bit of the Texas Tea. Don't take the name lightly, it's packed with rum, tequila, and vodka. Perfect for Texas. Cal was tempted at first to get himself a fruity martini, but then decided against it to avoid questioning. He got himself a Pisco Sour, a drink he remembered from his childhood when Spain once gave him some on accident. The drink itself was bitter yet strangely refreshing, as most alcohol was to Cal.

* * *

"Sam, I'll be right back."

Texas took a moment to realize that he was talking to her, not remembering the temporary name change, but then gave him the okay and went back to her second Texas Tea. She looked around, she noticed a very inebriated man walking up to her.

"Hey, can I buy you a drink?"

Texas shook her head, and turned away from him.

"Awww, the hottie's shy! You new here, princess?"

She still refused to turn to him, crossing her arms across her chest protectively,

"How about you and I got back to my place and we can-"

At that moment, Cal cleared his throat directly behind the man. He jumped, and then saw the muscly young man glaring down at him,

"You're the exact reason I hate this place. Is there anything you'd like to say for yourself?"

The man slunk away in silence, sober enough to know when to back away from a fight with a superior-looking man. Texas peeked over her shoulder to see Cal smiling at her,

"You okay? I know exactly what happened. I've experienced it much too often."

Texas took another swig of her Tea, and then relaxed.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

Cal dipped his head, ever so slightly, and said,

"How about you and I go back to my place, and we can watch a movie? Your pick."

Texas laughed at his joke, and then agreed. Her head was swimming a bit too much for her tastes, and happily let Cal lead her out of the dark, smelly, club.

* * *

"Do guys really hit on you all the time?"

"Oh yeah, such a bummer. You have no idea how many times I've told a guy that my name is Angel, and they use one of their cheesy, angel pick-up lines."

"Like what?"

"Am I dead, Angel? Cause this must be heaven!"

Texas laughed at his mocking tone. She didn't doubt it for a second that Cal had guys chasing her like dogs, it would just make her boil with rage if she found out that they were successful.

Cal adjusted the seat belt of the taxi, and leaned over to whisper in her ear,

"I think we're freaking out the driver"

It's true, the driver was eying Cal suspiciously, probably assuming he was gay. Though, that wasn't too difficult of a conclusion to reach.

Cal leaned back and sighed,

"Well, at least now you know how it feels to have to deal with those kinds of guys. Hopefully he didn't get any booze on my good shoes."

Texas grinned and leaned over onto Cal's shoulder, closing her eyes. The heavy alcohol finally got to her and she tilted her head so it was level with Cal's chin.

She pressed her lips lazily to his jaw, leaving a light red print. She continued to kiss him, gradually making her way up his neck to his lips. Texas grabbed his ears firmly and pressed his face to hers. Cal, also a bit drunk, didn't mind so much. He was naturally welcome to contact, but the smell of rum on her lips, made him nervous that she wasn't entirely in control of her own actions.

To be honest, Cal did like Texas. It wasn't how he felt about Oregon, less serious of course, yet he couldn't deny the one or two fantasies he's had about Texas.

Cal loved a lot of people, but what kind of love was it?

Obviously, it was family love with her brothers and Hawaii. Was there romantic love for Texas? He had no clue. Maybe his hormones are all out of whack from the gender change, and he's not used to this sort of attraction. Oh well. All he can do now is get Texas to sleep and not do anything reckless.

He found himself beginning to kiss her back, but at that exact moment, the car screeched to a stop and the taxi driver told them they had arrived. Cal payed the man, then carried Texas out of the car.

* * *

_She seems lighter than before. It's probably the lack of muscle._

Texas is still halfheartedly pecking at his neck with her lips, dropping off to sleep as they walked under the streetlamp light. Texas sung a little song, one Cal recognized as one Mexico used to sing to them when they were young. The notes were sweet, the words familiar, and soon Cal found himself singing with her.

When they made it back to Cal's house, he immanently took her upstairs to the guest room she was staying in. He laid her down on the sheets, about to pull the covers over her, when she yanked down on his collar, kissing him passionately now.

Her strength pulled him down onto the bed, on top of her. She continued to capture his lips, over and over again, until she had run out of breath. She rolled over so he was underneath her, and untucked his shirt.

Cal squirmed under her weight, but she had him pinned down to the bed as she began pulling off his clothes. She pressed herself against him again, lessening her grip and Cal took advantage of that to wiggle free and sprint out of the room.

Texas flopped down on the bed, laying on her back, confused at his actions and her own. She closed her eyes and drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Cal stood behind the door, locking it securely, just in case she decided to follow him to his room. It was twenty minutes before Cal finally relaxed into his own mattress. He pulled some make-up removal wipes from his bedside table and cleaned off his face and neck.

_How am I going to deal with this tomorrow?_

* * *

I'm done! I'm done I'm done I'm done! With this chapter anyway. I had been waiting to make a scene like that between Cali and Texas for a while now, who knew it was going to be a gender-swapped episode?! So that's the end of the gender adventure, the regular storyline will be picking up from here, just back in the regular pro-nouns. I had to correct myself so many times until I finally got it through my head that Cali was Cal. Anyway, thanks for reading! Review, and let me know who you ship Cali with, I'm dying to know! See you next time!


	34. Sleepless

"I gotta say, I rather like being a girl."

Yesterday was the last day of the spell, so it had finally worn off. Cali texted the President that she was back to normal, and then slipped on her fuzzy slippers. The morning was crisp, and a fog hung in the air around the house.

Texas had woken up by then too. He quickly removed the dress, fighting embarrassment, and put his regular clothes back on. He then went to the bathroom and washed the smeared make-up off.

_I wonder why it's all messed up. It's probably from moving around in my sleep._

He dried his face with a towel, and then braced himself to go downstairs.

Cali was scrambling eggs at the stove, and humming a song to herself. Texas opened the fridge and got out the milk. He poured himself a glass, then sat down at the table,

"Cali?"

"What's up?"

"You okay? You seem a little quieter than usual."

Cali stopped cooking for a second,

"Just do me a favor and put my shirt in the hamper, will you?"

"What do you mean?"

Cali bit her lip and turned off the stove,

"You don't remember, do you?"

Texas raised an eyebrow in suspense, waiting for her to continue,

"Do you really want to know what happened?"

Texas thought for a moment, before nodding,

"Let's just say we never got to watch that movie."

Texas spat out the milk he was drinking, and sat there for a second, suspended,

"You mean that we-"

"No, not that exactly. You just, kinda..."

She took the ketchup out of the fridge, and went to sit down at the table across from Texas,

"Pounced on me?"

She said it like a question, as though she expected him to react badly.

Texas was stunned at first, then a little bit proud of himself, then guilty for feeling proud, then confused over the whole event.

_Well, I guess it could be worse. She could hate me. _

_Then again, who's to say she doesn't._

* * *

It was a few days after that and Texas had gone home. Cali was getting ready for bed. She put on a soft tank top, and some fuzzy pajama shorts.

After brushing her teeth and climbing into her bed, she noticed Sacramento huddled under the giant comforter. He was snoring gently, and Cali sighed contently as she cuddled into his mane. The bed was plenty big for both of them, and it was made to withstand any earthquake mother nature could throw at them.

Meanwhile, a loud debate was taking place in Berlin, Germany. There, it was late morning, 11 am, and the meeting was in full swing. Germany had given up after multiple attempts at regaining control over the crowd.

America was pestering England, complaining about how he never has any fun.

"Well, some of us have work to do! Some of us have to deal with actual problems!"

"Are you saying that I don't have problems too?"

Though America usually didn't like to brag about his imperfections, he would do basically anything to show-up England,

"Well, I'm sure you have some problems, but I've had much more to deal with in my life-time than you."

America leaned into England's face, glaring very childishly,

"Oh yeah? Why don't you just use your fancy magic to bring one of my states here, and they can tell you all about the struggles it took to get where I am today! Summon California, or New York, I don't care. It'll be hilarious when you realize that one of my states dealt with more than you!"

Growing red with frustration, England did just that.

A white ball of light appeared on top of the table, and soon California manifested above the table. She fell a few feet, before landing with a thud on the table. America and England stood there for a moment, waiting for her to get up, but she just laid there. America panicked,

"Holy crap dude! Did you kill her?!"

At that moment, she rolled over and landed in France's lap. Still snoring, she curled up in a little ball, clutching his shirt, and muttering softly,

"Mayor Orange, where did the dolphin pope go?"

America chuckled as France recovered from his initial shock and realized he had a very pretty girl draped over him. Slowly but surely, Cali opened her eyes,

"Good morning, chéri."

"Vermont? How did you get in my house?"

She lifted her head, and looked into France's eyes. After a moment, she screamed and flung herself backwards. Unfortunately, she hit her head really hard on the table, and fell to the floor.

Rubbing her head, she growled

"Okay, what's going on?"

America crouched down and pulled her up on her feet,

"America? Where am I?"

America smiled, a guilty smile, and California looked around the room,

"No really, who are all these people? They look kinda terrified of me. Romano? Is that you?"

America patted her on the shoulder,

"You're in Germany, and I was hoping you would tell eyebrows here that-"

"Hold on, rewind. Germany? As in the country in Europe?"

He nodded and Cali frantically looked at him,

"How did I get here?! One second, I'm laying in bed, the next I'm in Germany?"

England explained to her that he summoned her using magic, and she squeezed her eyes shut as she snarled,

"The next time someone uses magic to meddle in my life, I'm going to tear out their internal organs and throw them in a volcano!"

Her tone quickly turned from annoyance, to utter fury. The nations all scooted away from her, all too aware that she is fully capable of such a deed,

"Cali, where did you learn that?"

"Who do you think? Aztec. I had front row seats for his sacrifices."

She didn't seem even the least bit disturbed or scarred by these events. She shrugged, then looked down at herself. Her arms flew across her chest and she let out a small squeak as she realized how minimal clothing she was wearing. America handed her his coat, and walked her to the front of the room.

"Okay, now, just tell us about all the problems you've faced in your life."

She looked completely flabbergasted by his prompt, yet cleared her throat and said

"Okay, well get comfy. This is going to be a long story."

She hesitated for a moment, deep in thought, and didn't notice England smirking at her, prepared to take down any argument she made with his own.

"Just imagine for a second that you live in the woods. Your days are quiet, you sleep in the tall trees, relax in the water, play with your loving brothers, your life is pretty great."

_Pause for effect,_

"Now imagine that someone comes along and destroys all that tranquility. First, they kill you brothers, then they find you. They are looking for only a few things. Gold, land, and to spread their religion. Scratch that, my riches, my land, and to completely alter the way I think."

She takes a breath, giving Spain a moment to realize that she's talking about him.

"It was odd, my people greeted them with open arms. Bringing them gifts, very welcome to trade, but when they did trade they unwittingly were infected with smallpox, influenza, and all those deadly diseases."

She threw her arms up in the air, and let them fall back to her sides.

"The years after that are a tad blurry, I remember meeting Spain and him taking over. It wasn't too bad. I'll skip forward a little bit. California is now apart of the union and the gold rush has begun. Unfortunately, the gold ran out after a while and the miners turned on each other. Awful fights and shootings. That was also the year I fell down a mine shaft, I believe. 50-foot drop, straight down."

England is getting a tad nervous now. She seems to have a very tight case, this one will be difficult to dispute. Hard to top a 50-foot plummet in the dingy, dark, ground, but there's one thing he knows she never be able to beat,

"Well, have you ever experienced something as awful as the Black Death?"

A lot of the older European countries shuddered at the thought, but Cali just rolled her eyes and held up her hand,

"I'm getting there, okay?"

England fell silent once more as she continued,

"So now it's 1900, a new century, and it kicks off with San Fransisco reporting signs of an epidemic. It showed on my skin, too. My nails were black, and there were small lumps forming under my arm. I told my governor about it, but he refused asking for help, and in fact publicly denied it. You know his main reason for that? He didn't want to ruin my reputation. That's right, people are dying and he's worried about my reputation. There were 121 cases identified, including 113 deaths."

She leaned her weight on one hip, and yawned, still extremely tired.

"A little bit after that, a huge earthquake strikes San Fransisco. San Fran isn't having a few good time so far, as you can tell. At almost precisely 5:12 a.m., a fore shock occurred with sufficient force to be felt widely throughout the San Francisco Bay area. The great earthquake broke loose some 20 to 25 seconds later, with an epicenter near San Francisco. Violent shocks punctuated the strong shaking which lasted some 45 to 60 seconds. The earthquake was felt from southern Oregon and inland as far as Nevada. I was practically ripped in half by the huge tremor, 7.8 on the scale. I still have this from it."

She turns around and lifts her shirt. There's a huge scar running down her back, almost black in color, and other smaller scars running up and down next to it.

"You can only see it this clearly when I'm really pissed, if that's any clue to how I'm feeling right now."

America turns to England, a triumphant smirk upon his face,

"Well, what do you have to say to that? If you're not entirely satisfied by that, I could always call in Florida and he can tell you about Hurricane Katrina. Or New York could tell you about 9/11. Perhaps you want Kansas to lecture you on Bleeding Kansas."

England let his head fall to the table,

"Fine, I get it, you've had some pretty tough times too."

America punched the air giddily, then turned to Cali

"Cali, you can-oh right."

She has collapsed on the floor, still wearing his jacket, and snoring lightly.

"Um, could somebody get Cali home?"

* * *

Okay, I know, it's shorter than usual, but I'm pretty tired myself and I don't feel like looking up more tragedies. Just picture Cali with a really ticked off expression basically the whole time she's talking. Anyways, thanks for your support! Don't worry, I have chapters on the characters you've been asking for cooking, and let me know what else you want to see! Please review, it makes me smile like an idiot and now all my friends think I'm insane. See you next time!


	35. Valentine's Day Ball

The annual Valentine's Day Ball has begun, and California is already finding herself regretting coming. She usually liked to stay at home and watch sappy movies while eating a bunch of junk food, but somehow she convinced herself that it would be fun to go out.

She sat on a stool at the bar and sipped her Apple Martini. Setting her elbow on the table and laying her head in hand, she let out a sigh of regret.

_I just got The Notebook on blue-ray and everything. This is so lame. At least there's free drinks._

Texas and New York both watched her from a distance, waiting for the right time to approach her. Over the years, both of them have treated Cali like a porcelain doll. As though if they said anything wrong, she would shatter into a million pieces. Texas was even more cautious due to recent events.

York was the first one to walk up and sit next to her. He sat on her left and ordered his own drink, and turned to her, smiling suavely. Cali perked up instantly, glad that she had something interesting to do, and said to him excitedly,

"Hey Yorkie! How goes it? I haven't seen you in forever!"

York takes a taste of his drink, and then falls into the conversation.

Arizona has his hands full. Between Nevada with the open bar, and Cali, he is being run ragged. New Mexico pulls him into a chair and tells him,

"Ari, you might as well relax. Nevada won't go past the legal limit, not with everyone else drinking their share, and Cali needs to have a little fun anyway. You go a little overboard sometimes."

Arizona slumped into his chair and retorts pitifully,

"I do not go overboard."

New Mexico scoffs at the idea and rolls his eyes,

"You personally went to her door this morning and collected all the flowers that were sent, and then burned them. You're the definition of overboard."

Colorado walks up to the two of them, laughing,

"Wait, you really did that? I thought Cali was lying when she said she found scattered petals on her doorstep, but no intact flowers."

New Mexico and Colorado both begin laughing, but Arizona just crosses his arms and continues to pout.

"So, would you care to dance?"

Cali smiles, and takes York's outstretched hand. He leads her over to the center of the room, and puts his hands on her hips. She proceeds to wrap her arms around his neck, and they began to gently sway to the soft music, both in perfect timing.

America had gone out of his way to hire an orchestra, and when Austria found out that he was throwing a ball, he offered his talent. So now, Austria is playing his precious piano for the states.

He thought he was prepared to deal with whatever the group could throw at him, but obviously he wasn't.

His music is halted as a sudden, deep, and fast-paced drum beat starts up from somewhere in the percussion. Austria looks over as a few boys, North Carolina, Minnesota, and West Virginia, leap up and take a few instruments from the players, and continue with their own jazzy song.

The dancers are stunned at first by the sudden change, but New York quickly sees his opportunity, and twirls Cali around. She gets a very devilish look on her face, and instantly grabs his hands. In a flash, the two are swing dancing, neither missing a beat due to their professional training in the arts.

He is picking her up off the ground, performing very complicated maneuvers, and Cali swings her legs around to whip herself around and land back on her feet. A crowd begins forming around the two, but both are oblivious to the attention. The two are so wrapped up in their dance that neither can break eye-contact.

California and York are breathing hard by the time the song is over. Austria can only watch as Pennsylvania steps up and begins slamming on the ivory keys unmercifully.

He plays a long, sweeping introduction, and then pauses, looking around the audience. York recognizes it instantly as a song from one of his musicals, but is blown away as Cali shouts out,

"**And now, an explanation of the corrupt bargain, which took place in the back halls of Washington, while no one was watching."**

She lets go of York's hand to get up on stage, and begins to sing the song, in tune to the piano, from memory,

"**Do, do, do, do, do. Do, do, do, do, do. Do, do, do, do, do, do do. John Calhoun says,"**

York smiles at the girl and joins her on stage,

"**We need to find a scheme to keep the power in the hands of the chosen few."**

"**John Quincy Adams says,"**

Now DC, thoroughly drunk and also a fan of the show, climbs up on stage and pipes up,

"**If my dad was president, I should get to be president too."**

Virginia and Maryland are with Cali now, and all three are singing together,

"**Henry Clay says,"**

Delaware is pulled on stage by York, and sings the next verse

"**I'll make you president if you make me Secretary of State."**

All three girls now stand by the piano, Cali bouncing to the rhythm of the music, Virginia unclasping her tight bun and letting her blonde hair fall to her shoulders, and Maryland tapping the piano as Pennsylvania plays.

"**Alexis de Tocqueville says something in French that none of us can translate. Woo! Do, do, do, do. Do, do, do, do. Do, do, do, do. Do, do, do, do. Do, do, do, do. Do, do, do, do.  
All you educated people, you can talk of liberty. But do you really want the American people running their own country? Eww!"**

The crowd is laughing at their little impromptu performance, and soon everyone on the floor is dancing again.

"**Do, do, do, do. Do, do, do. Do, do, do. Do, do, do. Do, do, do. Do, do, do, John Quincy Adams says,"**

DC has a goofy evil look on his face while he sings out,

"**If we steal the election, then Jackson will surely cave."**

"**John Calhoun says,"**

York gives an exaggerated scowl as he sings,

"**You can be president if you don't try to take away my slaves."**

"**Henry Clay says,"**

Delaware puffs out his chest, and looks directly at Missouri,

"**You'll get Missouri 'cause I know how to play real politic."**

"**James Madison said something prescient about this but he was kind of a dick. Let's dance!"**

The crowd is roaring with laughter as the group begins to dance. Cali grabs York, Virginia is snatched by Delaware, and DC is with Maryland. They all sing together as they rock back and forth,

"**Do, do, do, do. Do, do, do, do. Do, do, do, do. Do, do, do, do. Do, do, do, do. Do, do, do, do."**

The girls all let go of their dance partners, and sing,

"**You can compromise all you want, they're still drunk and smell like pee. Do you really want America run by a man from Tennessee?"**

Tennessee shouts out a loud,

"Hey!"

Yet the girls keep singing,

"**John Quincy Adams!"**

DC's drunken state is the only thing keeping him going at this point,

"**The people are stupid!"**

"**Henry Clay!"**

Delaware cups his mouth with his hands, and shouts,

"**They can all go rot!"**

"**John Calhoun!"**

The song just gets more and more rapid as York continues,

"**They're lame!"**

"**Quincy Adams!"**

DC is laughing as he belts out,

"**They suck!"**

"**Henry Clay!"**

Delaware makes a idiotic expression, that somewhat resembles anger and he sings,

"**Jackson's a total twat!"**

"**John Calhoun,"  
**

York leans into the crowd and points at his fellow performers,

"**These guys are idiots but it's Jackson who's a real threat."**

**"I'm sure Michel Foucault would have an opinion but he hasn't been born yet."**

The girls all begin chanting together, as the guys laugh evilly,

"**Jackson is a loser. Jackson is a loser. Jackson is a loser. Jackson is a loser."**

America suddenly jumps on stage and the group is expecting him to reprimand them, but instead screams at them,

"**I'm the president!"**

The six all sigh, ending the song, and the crowd goes wild. They all hop off the stage, letting Austria attempt to gain control over his musicians again, but to no avail.

Cali is holding York's hand as she says,

"OMG that was so much fun!"

York squeezes her hand and then lets go, as they sit together at a table.

"I had no idea you were a fan of musicals, Cali"

Honestly, York was a little bit turned on. Show tunes were his favorite, and Cali's beautiful voice only added to it.

"Well, after so many movie musicals got popular, I figured I'd check out the ones that weren't movie too. I used to not like them so much, until Les Mis came out in theaters. From then on, I was hooked."

"Perhaps we could see one sometime. Together, I mean."

California smiles at him dreamily and then smiles a wide smile,

"I'd like that."

_Oh no, code red. I can't let York have any time alone with her, what if he asks her out? I have to get over there, and fast. _

Texas readjusts his belt-buckle, and pushes his way to the two at the table. He plops down next to California, and says,

"This seat taken?"

Cali smiles at him, and Texas continues,

"That was some song, Cali."

"I was there too, you know."

Texas glares York when California looks away, and York returns the glare. She turns back to them and says as she walks away,

"I'm gonna grab a drink."

Once she had gone over to the bar, Texas crossed his arms and said to York in a degrading manner,

"Listen up, cause I'm only gonna say this once, you rodent. Cali is mine, I won the bet and now you have to back off."

York rolled his eyes,

"Oh yeah, like you got her to kiss you. Even if it did happen, what about the Superbowl?"

Texas huffed, annoyed at the loophole,

"You both were extremely drunk at that party."

"How drunk were you two when it happened?"

Texas paused for a second, unable to think of a comeback.

_It's true that I was really drunk, but how drunk was Cali? I can't even really remember what happened that night anyway. _

"Fine, York. How about a rematch? Who ever gets Cali to be their Valentine wins."

The boys shook on it, and then went their separate ways. York went directly over to Cali at the bar, and asked her to dance.

"Oh sure! Talk to you later Utah!"

She left Utah at the bar with his eyebrows raised at York, and made a beeline for Arizona. By the time Arizona was aware, Cali and York already had their hands on each other. York put his left hand on her hip, and held her left hand in his right. Cali did something similar, but had her right hand on his shoulder instead.

They talked casually for a while, until Texas pulled Cali away from York. He began to dance with her now, throwing in a spin ever now and then, and Cali laughed at the sudden change. York, however, was not as happy with Texas for cutting in, but danced with Idaho anyway.

Arizona pushed Texas out of the way, grabbing Cali instead, planning on taking her off the dance floor, but found himself dancing with her. Cali held back a laugh and said to him,

"If you wanted to dance, Ari, why didn't you ask South Dakota? It looks like she would like some company."

Arizona shook his head and accidentally stepped on Cali's foot. She yelped, and Arizona let go. York quickly stepped in again, and dipped her to the floor. She quickly regained her balance, and said,

"It seems as though everyone want to dance with me for some reason."

York laughed,

"Well, you are a stupendous dancer, among other things."

York twirled her around, and Cali thought,

_It's funny. This is how Fred Astaire used to dance with me._

Suddenly, York is shoved out of the way, replaced by Indiana. He grabs her, a little more roughly than York, and spins her around.

Cali looses track of who dances with her over the next hour or so. Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts, York again, Ohio, Texas, York, West Virginia, all of it's one big blur of dips, twirls, steps, and ball changes.

Suddenly, Oregon is holding her close and his eyes are wide. They both blush and look away simultaneously as the song switches over to a slow, romantic song. Cali takes initiative and takes a tentative step forward. Oregon responds cautiously, stepping back, and soon the two are perfectly synchronized, pushing and pulling the other to the beat. Oregon is terrified of the idea of stepping on her feet, or slipping, or just making a fool of himself in general, and Cali is just savoring every moment of contact the two share.

Texas and New York both watch, neither trying to separate the two from each other. Cali just looks so content in his arms, and Oregon is holding her so gently, they look like they had been waiting for this moment for a long time. It would be despicable to tear them apart at a time like this, even if the boys felt sick to their stomachs because of it.

Cali lays her head on his shoulder, not saying anything, and Oregon wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her closer if that was even possible. She whispers in his ear

"So, do you have any questions for me?"

She says it teasingly, and Oregon has no clue what she means,

"If you're not going to ask, I guess I'll just have to. Will you be my Valentine?"

Oregon blushes even darker, and Cali giggles at his stunned silence. He chokes out a,

"Yes, but only if you'll be mine."

Cali takes her head off his shoulder showing him that one corner of her mouth is pulled up, and she says,

"I think that can be arranged."

Cali leans forward, grabs his jacket collar, and pulls his lips to meet hers. Cali is dreadfully impatient, and she has been yearning for this opportunity for who knows how long.

Oregon cups her face with his hands, and absorbs her warmth. She wraps her arms around his neck, bridging the almost non-existent gap between the two. The kiss lasts only a matter of seconds, but it feels like an eternity to York and Texas who were watching in dread. The sensation of guilt wells up in Texas. He has been trying to get Cali all to himself for a very long time, when all along Cali never wanted to be with him. Not romantically anyway.

York, however, is sent into a rage. To him, Oregon is just taking advantage over Cali. He refuses to accept that Cali lacks any romantic feelings for him, and is attempting to make up any excuse he can to explain the sudden kiss.

It takes Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico all working together to keep Arizona from interfering. They have to pin him down to a chair for a long while before Arizona gives up and collapses.

Hawaii is giddy with excitement for the new advancement in California's love life, and Nevada is in to much of a stupor of alcohol to notice anything going on around him.

Cali pulls back from Oregon, and tries to speak, but Oregon reels her in again for another kiss. They stand in the middle of the dance floor for some time, simply relishing the other.

_Best Valentine's Day ever._

* * *

Okay, I know, this is really late, but I had to go on a media fast for school. That means no computer, no phone, nothing for one day. It was really hard, and I spent all day yesterday working on it, but it got really late before I finished, ruining the Valentines day special thingy. I was super stoked about their first kiss by the way, let me know if I'm going the right way with the love interest thing. Anyway, please review, and thank you for you continued support! See you next time!


	36. Sleepover

"For the last time America, I can't hack into the Russian servers!"

"No dude, it's not that. Can you help me out here?"

"I can't do anything drastic, I'm working. Like, actually working. The phone line needs to be open so Jerry can call me."

"Do the Arnold impression!"

Cali face palmed at his request, and said dryly,

"Really? That's what you needed?"

Cali was close to hanging up the phone, but then said into the phone, in a perfect accent,

"I'll be back"

She then slammed down the phone. America and Prussia burst into laughter,

"Oh my god, she had a boss that really sounded like that?"

"Yeah, he was an actor too. I defiantly need to show you Terminator."

* * *

A bunch of female states from all over the country, set aside one day to do the thing all girls do best.

Throw a sleepover. A damn good one, at that.

Try as they might to make sure nobody outside the circle finds out about it, every year the boys learn the location and time. What they use this information for varies, depending on the ones who go to crash the party.

This year, they intercepted the info from one of their mass texts. The sleepover would be taking place in Idaho at her house in Boise.

* * *

Cali arrived with Hawaii at Idaho's estate around 4:03 pm. The sun was still shining, casting a golden haze over the fields surrounding the large house. Idaho stood in the door frame, waving with one hand to the two, and holding a half-peeled potato in the other,

"Hey guys! Come on in! Everyone else is here."

Idaho lets them inside, then closes the door behind them. Inside, were almost all the girl states. New Jersey and Louisiana couldn't make it, but otherwise the gang was all there. Cali set down her bag and walked into the living room where everyone was.

Everyone was scattered about the room, sitting at the table, looking in the fridge, and just generally chatting. Hawaii squealed excitedly and skipped into the room, but Cali held her back for a moment,

"I know this is a sleepover, but you're still going to bed at 8:30 and you will not have a drop of alcohol, you hear me?"

Hawaii rolled her eyes in exasperation, and agreed to the terms while everyone poked fun at Cali,

"Hey there Mama Bear, how's the cub?"

Cali smiled and let go of Hawaii, who went speeding to find Alaska, and jutted out one hip,

"Oh hi Hampshire, good to see you too."

The group laughed as Cali flounced into the room, and found a seat at the table.

* * *

Kentucky stuck his head out from the bush, and dusted the leaves out of his hair. He held a walkie-talkie to his mouth,

"This is Tucker, positioned and ready. Over."

There was a brief moment of silence, before Kentucky heard a snigger and Arkansas's voice from the walkie-talkie,

"That's what she said!"

He then burst out laughing. Suddenly, there was a thud and the laugh disappeared,

"Let that be a warning"

"Ohio? What the hell, dude? Was that a frying pan?"

Massachusetts sighed to himself and told them strictly,

"Listen up losers, Operation Lady Liberation will soon commence. At exactly 9, Ohio will give the signal. Nebraska and York, it's up to you guys to look in the windows to see what the girls are up to. Further instructions will be given based on what exactly the girls are up to. Remember, we're here to crash this lame sleepover like we do every year. We have a reputation to uphold."

Everyone agreed, and soon it was 9pm. Ohio whistled the bird call, and York and Nebraska both began their part. York stayed on the bottom floor, peeking in the windows every now and then, and could see them moving about. Getting food, talking, the usual. Nebraska on the top floor had similar results.

They radioed back to Mass, and soon he and the rest, Arkansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Texas, and West Virginia, were standing at the front door. Soon they were joined by York and Nebraska. They rang the doorbell, and Kansas answered it,

"Yes? Ah!"

She squeaked and slammed the door in their faces. Cali and Idaho came running out to see what the matter was and Kansas told them,

"It's the boys! They're here!"

She had a terrified expression on her face and she kept glancing over her shoulder like she expected them to break down the door. Cali went back to tell the rest that they had arrived, and Idaho helped Kansas to barricade the door as well as they could.

The male states kept knocking on the door, calling out for them to let them in, while the girls all went and changed into special suits. The skin-tight suits were jet black, and had pockets filled with the essentials. Pepper spray, a knife, and lipstick. The girls got into position, and began their own operation.

Operation Stay the Fuck Away, We're Just Trying to Hang Out Here. Or SFA,WJTHOH, but that's pretty hard to pronounce, so we'll stick with Stay the Fuck Away.

* * *

It started with Alaska sneaking out back and releasing her Huskeys. The dogs went crazy, chasing off a few of them but the majority still stood on the porch. West began to climb up to the window still, and when he got into the house, he was ambushed. Maryland and Oklahoma held him down and then tied him up. They put him into a closet and shouted to the others,

"Three down, five to go."

Next was Rhode Island pouring glue down on the boys from above, coating all of them in the sticky substance, and then South Dakota dropping bags of feathers down. York called up at them,

"Really? Glue and feathers? So mature of you."

Rhode laughed and called right back,

"Would you prefer tar to glue? I'm positive we can bring back the old torture technique."

Soon, Washington, Virginia, and Wyoming sprung out of the bushes at them, and managed to handcuff York, Arkansas, and Ohio. They were also brought to the closet and thrown in.

"Five down, three to go!

Nebraska quickly fled, after the display the girls have put on he is terrified of being the next victim. Plus, the France in him is telling him to get the glue out of his hair as soon as possible.

Now, York and Texas were the only ones left,

"You know Tex, you look ridiculous with those feathers glued to you."

"You do too, dumbass."

California quickly bounded from the roof, landing behind the boys,

"They sent me for obvious reasons, I am the only one capable of this."

She took out her camera and snapped a few pictures of the boys,

"You mean operate a camera?"

Cali put away the camera, and took out her pick,

"Oh no. I'm the only one who can do this."

She sprinted at them, holding out her weapon and hooking York. She yanked him backwards into Texas with her strength, running around them and wrapping a rope around the two of them. She tied a tight knot and stepped back to admire her work.

The two were strapped to each other very tightly, not to mention the glue holding them in place even further. She laughed and took a few more pictures,

"Eight down, zero to go!"

She grabbed the bundle, and hoisted them up onto her shoulder easily, and soon the door opened for her. She stepped inside gracefully, and threw the two in the closet, and locked the door. She joined the rest of the celebrating girls in the living room and asked them,

"So what are we going to do with them?"

Maine said in her timid voice,

"Well, since it's Idaho's house, I think we should let her decide."

Idaho thought for a second, before smiling widely,

"How about we just let nature take it's course, and let DC punish them for us. He's never believed us before, but now he'll have to."

Everyone agreed, and soon all of the culprits were on their way to the capital building, giving the girls some peace and quiet for once.

* * *

"Okay, Cali! Truth or dare?"

Cali laughed and took a sip of the champagne she was drinking,

"Okay okay, truth."

Mississippi thought for a moment, before asking her eagerly,

"What's up with you and Oregon? You two kissed at the Valentine's ball, right?"

Washington choked on the coffee she was drinking and screeched,

"What did you do to my brother?"

Cali rolled her eyes,

"Calm yourself Washy, it was just a kiss. Missy, I have no idea what's going on exactly. I mean, he hasn't asked me out, or anything."

Maryland took out her phone and waved it in front of Cali's face,

"Well, I could tell him to."

Cali tried to stop her, she really did, but with everyone egging Mary on, she dialed his number and held the phone up her her ear.

* * *

Oregon picked up the phone, confused at what Maryland wanted, and this is what he heard,

"Oregon! You need to- shut up Cali! No, don't hang up! Oregon you need to-"

Then the phone went dead and Oregon hung up the phone.

_Weird. What do I need to do?  
_

Suddenly, she called again,

"OREGON MAKE A MOVE ON CALI ALREADY!"

She was cut off again, and Oregon blushed.

_Easier said than done._

* * *

Cali tackled Maryland, and pinned her down. It took Virginia, Wisconsin, and Alabama all working together to pull Cali away from her. Cali sat back down on the floor, pouting, but South Carolina just told her,

"Oh loosen up. Sometimes boys need a wake-up call. Literally, in this case."

Cali sighed and said to Maryland,

"Well, it's my turn to ask someone. Truth or dare?"

Mary hesitated, but said defiantly,

"Dare! Bring it on!"

Everyone groaned at her, and Cali instructed her,

"I dare you to get Alaska to blush."

Everyone gasped at the dare, and looked over into the other room at Alaska, who was sitting next to a sleeping Hawaii and sharpening her machete.

As far as they know, Alaska has never blushed. Not once. She's barely even smiled, at that. Maryland gulps, but walks into the other room anyway,

"Hey there Alaska."

Alaska looked up from her knife and nodded solemnly at her. Maryland sat down next to her. She placed her hand near Alaska's thigh, and asked her,

"Whatcha' doing?"

Alaska looked at her, gestured to the giant knife she was holding, then went back to scraping the edge against a stone. Maryland carefully slid towards her and said,

"That's quite a knife you have there. It's really big."

Alaska let out a sigh, brushing a strand of her black hair behind her ear,

"I could hear you. Don't bother trying to get me to blush."

Maryland backed up, and sighed,

"Okay, sorry."

She just waved her away, trying to get back to her work. Maryland stood up, and right as she was about to leave, Hawaii shifted. She snuggled into Alaska's side, pressing her face against the fabric of Alaska's jacket. To Maryland's surprise, Alaska's cheeks turned red at the contact.

As Maryland walked out of the room, the girls could see the burning red dancing on Alaska's face. Maryland sat down, and everyone began to question her on how she did it,

"A magician never reveals her secrets."

* * *

The game continues for a while, nothing of note happening for a while. Eventually, the game dies out and Cali is talking with Wyoming.

"So how's everything going on with your brothers?"

Cali smiles and tells her,

"They're fine. Nevada's drunk, Arizona is still competing with Alaska for most stoic and emotionless, Utah is still finding dinosaur bones, Colorado is still skiing, New Mexico is still mining, the usual. What about your brothers?"

Wyoming rolled her eyes, groaning at the thought of them,

"I don't like to associate myself with those perverts. I swear, France gave them each an instruction manual on how to be as creepy as possible."

Cali giggled at her reaction,

"It's funny. I can't imagine living without my brothers, and here you are saying that you would love to get rid of yours."

Wyoming shrugged,

"I don't know. Maybe it's because you're the oldest. I'm the youngest of my family."

"Really? I basically raised New Mexico and Arizona. Not to mention Hawaii, but America babied her way too much for me to make to much impression on her youth."

"What was it like raising those two?"

"OMG, I have the cutest story from when Mexy and Ari were little. Wanna hear it?"

* * *

The year was 1912, and New Mexico and Arizona had finally been admitted to the union. Arizona was only a month younger than New Mexico though, so the two were still very close. They spent all their time together during their settling days, and now they had become states.

California was ecstatic at the thought of two more little brothers. Utah and Colorado were old enough now to watch themselves, leaving California all alone in her giant house. The state above her was very shy, even more so around her for some reason, and she was feeling rather lonely.

She paced at the door, waiting for her two new siblings to arrive. The car had just come out, and she was rather nervous that something would go wrong without any horses.

Suddenly, there was a knock, and Cali flew to the open the door. When she did, standing on her porch, were two small, wide eyed, little boys. Both had a layer of dust on them, and neither looked a day over 4 years old. America was standing behind them, holding two bags, and dumped them into Cali's arms. He practically ran away, shouting over his shoulder,

"They're your problem now!"

_Well, that can't be good._

Cali knelt down to look eye to eye with the two boys, and said in a motherly tone,

"How about we get you inside, and we can get cleaned up?"

New Mexico reached out and tugged on her hair. Ignoring her cry of pain, he said,

"You're pretty. Are you California?"

Cali smiled and nodded at him, and he said,

"You're my big sister? But you're too pretty."

California laughed at his compliment, and picked them both up. She held them effortlessly, and neither squirmed as she expected them to. She went to her kitchen, dropped the two boys off, and then went upstairs to prepare them a bath. Once the tub was filled with water, she went back to the kitchen to get them.

When she walked into the room, it was destroyed. It was as though a hurricane had come through her kitchen, because everything was torn, shattered, and/or stained. The two boys sat innocently in the center of the wreckage, and Cali stormed over to them. She picked them both off the ground by the scruff of their necks, and carried them upstairs like that, with the boys screaming for the whole trip.

She sat them both down by the tub, and began to take off their clothes. New Mexico refused to let her do so, and Arizona began to cry. Cali mentally cursed America for not mentioning how much of a hassle the two would be, and explained to the two of them in a strict manner,

"Well, if you don't get a bath, then how will you get clean? I'm your big sister, it's okay."

Arizona slowly stopped crying, and eventually New Mexico allowed her to take his clothes, but only if she promised to give them back. She agreed, and soon the two boys were splashing about in the tub. She cleaned the disgusting clothing in the sink nearby, keeping an eye on the two all the while.

Letting the clothes soak, she walked back over to the tub, and kneeled down next to it. She began to wash Arizona's black hair as best she could, but it was apparent that the two had not been properly cleaned in a long time.

* * *

Though it took a while, she finally got the two cleaned as best she could, and it was getting late by the time she got them dressed again. The sun had gone down, and she called the two of them to dinner. They ate a simple yet delicious meal with ingredients that came from Cali's very own garden, and soon she just sent them to go play with some of the toys that were in the bag America had given her.

Cali got a bed ready for the little ones while they played with some steel toy cars. She wrangled them into the sheets around 7 and tried to simply kiss them goodnight, and go to bed, but obviously the two could not let that happen,

"Tell us a story!"

Arizona called out, again and again, and soon New Mexico was shouting with him in agreement. Cali sighed and sat down in the chair by the bed,

"You want a story? Well, how about this one,"

She told them a story that Aztec used to tell her. It was translated to English, however, so some of it was a little choppy, but it enthralled both of the boys.

Before she got to the end, both were fast asleep, and she smiled to herself at how cute to two looked. They were holding onto each other, and Cali couldn't help herself but giggle at the adorable sight. She quietly walked to her own room, and fell into bed. As soon as her head made contact with the pillow, she was out like a light.

* * *

The soft footsteps was what woke California up. She bolted up, thinking it was an intruder, but then she saw Arizona. He was clutching his pillow, and had a terrified look on his face. Small tears were rolling down his cheeks, and he sniffed a few times before saying,

"California? There are monsters under my bed."

California smiled and ruffled his hair,

"Oh Ari, there aren't any monsters. Trust me."

Arizona shook his head, reassuring her that they were monsters and that she needed to get them out. She chuckled, and lifted the sheets,

"Well, how about you sleep here tonight, and tomorrow we can both get rid of the monsters."

Arizona looked at her in wonder, then climbed in the bed. California tucked him in, then wrapped her arms around him protectively. Arizona whispered to her,

"What if there are monsters here too?"

In answer, California blew on her whistle, and Sacramento came over from his bed in the corner of the room and got up on the bed,

"He watches over me, making sure no monsters hide under my bed."

At first Arizona was scared of the Grizzly, but then Sacramento licked his cheek, causing him to giggle and then nuzzle into Cali again. She kissed his forehead, and fell asleep. Arizona, reassured by the presence of the bear, and California, fell asleep as well.

* * *

"Cali, that was the cutest thing I've ever heard."

California laughed and elbowed Wyoming in the side,

"That was the day, I think, Arizona became so protective of me. I'm not sure why, but he decided that he was going to watch over me, just like I did for him that night. Just don't tell him I told you this, okay?"

* * *

So, there was a reason Arizona is protective all along. That was fun to write, I wrote the beginning at an actual sleepover. I've decided to post every other day so I can put more thought into it, and have more time to relax. Thank you for understanding, and thank you for your continued support! Please, please review! See ypu next time, bye!


	37. Exersizing

California was notoriously famous for her work ethic. Not work exactly. More exercise. She has a strict schedule and for her to break it would be high treason. It was for that exact reason she got prefers from the president to whip a certain someone into shape.

* * *

The someone in question, was currently taking a day to relax. He had rented the first season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" from Redbox and he had two pizzas, three family sized bags of chips, and a jumbo slushy.

He relaxed into his leather armchair, kicking his feet up on the coffee table, and flipping on the television with the remote.

He sat there for a while. Halfway through the first episode he had finished half of the first pizza and three quarters of the slushy. He thought to himself,

_This is bliss. No screaming politicians, no annoying countries, no natural disasters, no war, and most of all, no states to disturb me._

The door was slammed open, and the loud crash startled America out of his chair and onto the ground laying flat on his stomach.

In walks California, dressed in tight black leggings and a orange tank top. She's carrying a small duffel bag over her shoulder, that appears to be filled with water bottles, energy bars, and vegetables. Her hair is pulled back in a tight pony tail, and her eyes are narrowed at the sight of the couch potato in his natural habitat.

She blows a shrill whistle, not her bear one luckily, and drops the bag at the stairs. She walks over to America, who was still sprawled out on the ground, and pressed her tennis shoe clad foot into his lower back, crashing him to the ground. She barks out,

"50 PUSH UPS! NOW!"

America would usually have an easy time with that exercise, but California, with her all-American super strength, was bearing down on him, turning the simple work-out into pure torture,

"CALI! What...are...you...doing!?"

She pushed even harder,

"Did I tell you to speak?! 50 more!"

America dropped his head again, and continued while California told him,

"The prez gave me the word that you were getting a little chubby, a little lazy. It was up to me to get you up and moving."

She looked at around the room and frowned at all the junk food lying about,

"Don't tell me you were going to eat that all by yourself?!"

America didn't respond, but California took her foot off of him and he collapsed to the ground. She walked over to the open bag of chips and picked it up with the end of her finger nails like she expected it to catch on fire.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust, then went to the trash can and threw it out. America called out in protest, trying to get her to stop, but soon all the pizza was down in the can as well.

"I was gonna eat that!"

Cali rolled her eyes as she washed her hands in the sink,

"That's the problem. Here, if you're so hungry you should eat this."

She got out a orange from her bag and flung it at him. He caught it and smelled it,

"An orange? Really?"

Cali opened her pack again and took out a stick of celery,

"If you prefer the greens, then I can give you these instead."

America shook his head and peeled the fruit.

Once he had finished, Cali took out a speedometer, and said to him,

"Okay, now we are going to run from here, DC to Canada. If I beat you there, you have to carry me to California. If you beat me there, which is unlikely, you won't have to carry me to California. Got it? We leave in twenty minutes."

America bounded upstairs to get on some proper shoes and clothing, weighing his options. He could try to over-power the girl, she is only a state, but then he remembers her bear and thinks it better just to go along with it.

He's down in record time, and California is stretching out her legs. Not just your simple lunges, she has her foot behind her head, and the other one bent in an odd direction.

She gets him to stretch a little too, claiming it will help with the run, but he's no where near the level of flexibility that California is.

She opens the door, gives him a compass, then counts down from ten,

"Three, two, one, GO! LAST ONE THERE'S A ROTTEN EGG!"

She sprints forward, with America close in front of her. America smirks and speeds in front of her,

"I thought you said I wouldn't win!"

Cali laughed, and took a deep breath,

"You won't!"

She grabs the back of his shirt, and instead of dragging him down, she flings herself over his shoulder, and hits the ground running. Literally.

America calls out at her being unfair, but she's already out of earshot.

* * *

It was 10 hours later when America reached the border. He was wheezing, doubled over, and sweating buckets. Cali was filing her nails, waiting for him at the guard station. She walked over to him, and handed him a bottle of water,

"And only 6 hours behind me, good work."

America chugged the whole bottle, then collapsed on the ground. She rolled her eyes and poked him with the end of her shoe,

"Only a 5 minute break, then we're off to California. I have some food we can eat on the way."

At that moment, two young men walked out of the border station, and went over to see why Uncle America was lying on the ground, out of breath. Cali bent over to retie her shoelaces, causing both Quebec and Ontario to stop dead in their tracks. Ontario took a step forward, close to drooling at the sight, but Quebec held him back until she stood up again.

California turned around and saw the two speechless territories. She gave them a little wave, smiling brightly, and said to them,

"Oh he's fine. I just made him run here from DC so he's a little tired is all."

Quebec and Ontario shared a look of confusion at the situation, but before either of them could say anything, Cali was dragging America away by the collar. She waved carelessly to the two,

"Don't forget, if you ever need to get away from the snow, my place is always sunny."

* * *

America held California, bridal style, as he ran. She crossed her arms, and shouted orders at him,

"Get your knees up! I want to see you sweating! Crying does not count!"

America hadn't slept for almost 3 days now, and his thighs were on fire. No, they were scalding. It was like someone had dipped his lower half into lava and then made him climb a mountain.

They had finally arrived in California and she let him rest. Her house was quiet, but an hour later an alarm was going off. Not an alarm-clock-you-got-at-the-99-cent-store alarm, it's a fire-alarm-crossed-with-a-missile-warning alarm.

For the second time, America is shaken so much he falls straight to the floor. The alarm shuts off shortly after, with California walking over to the couch were he was napping and Sacramento following her over. He poked his big furry nose at America, and America slowly got up on his feet. Cali held his shoulders and said to him,

"I'm proud of you. You ran all the way across the country, part of it carrying me, and you didn't cough up too much blood. Good work. Now, let's run back. Ready? Set?"

America was close to collapsing right there, but when she offered to get him ice cream, he immediately brightened up.

"Go!"

* * *

England stood at America's door, repeatedly knocking, growing more and more impatient as time wore on. Suddenly, he heard two pairs of feet behind him, stampeding towards him, and he instinctively dove out of the way.

California came barreling in, smashing the door in the process, and was quickly followed by America. They high-fived in celebration, America was starting to get used to the literal cross-country runs, and California said to him,

"I still beat you, but you were close."

America sat down at the counter and said,

"Rematch?"

Cali's eyes narrowed and a grin spread across her face,

"Oh you are on!"

England peered into the living room, barely poking his head in, but Cali noticed him anyway,

"Yo! It's England!"

America looked over too, and shouted out,

"Dude, Iggy! When did you get here, man?"

England stood up and brushed off his clothes,

"Well, I came by to see if you were busy, but obviously you are so I'll be going."

He turned on his heel, trying to get away as quickly as possible, but was stopped when Cali said,

"Yeah, we were just getting ready to run back to the Pacific."

"As in the ocean?"

Cali nodded and looked at America,

"Your last time was 5 hours, let's see if you can beat that. My best is 3, but that was when I drank so much Starbucks I couldn't see straight."

England just stood there gaping at the casual conversation,

"Cali, can we make a stop in Texas? I need more barbeque sauce."

"Hold on America, go back to the part about running to the Pacific Ocean."

California answered for him,

"Well, the president asked me to whip America into shape, so I did! It was easy to get him to do what I wanted, anyway."

America rolled his eyes and said,

"It is not."

Immediately, he is pushed to the ground by Cali's strong hand, and she shouts at him,

"20 PUSH-UPS OR YOU'RE GOING TO CARRY A PIANO TO THE WEST COAST!"

With California's foot pushing him to the floor, America is listening to her to the amusement of England. Soon, America is back on his feet, murmuring to himself about talking to the president later, and California smiles to England,

"Well, this was fun but I have to get home to feed Sacramento."

She hops onto America's back in one fluid motion, and she's shouting,

"TALLY HO!"

She digs her heels into America's side, and he starts to run, shouting that she promised he wouldn't have to carry her anymore.

England just closes the door behind him, and says to himself,

"That proves that Americans are crazy. Not that I needed anymore proof."

* * *

A little shorter than usual, but I felt a little uninspired this time and it's late. As always, thanks for you support! Please review, I have no clue if you guys actually like this or not, and let me know what states you want to be incorporated next! Some stereotypes for each character you want would be nice too, and don't worry anubis456, I plan on putting some cheese feud Cali vs. Wisconsin jazz in there.


	38. Civil Boyfriends

California drummed her finger nails on the table in front of her.

_I'm barely even a state and they're already arguing their heads off about me. _

America nudged her in the side. He passed her a note that said,

**These guys always argue about everything. Don't let it get to you. **

California took out a pen and wrote back to him,

**Yeah, I know. What are they arguing about anyway?**

**Slavery. It's a really big deal right now because Mass and Penn both want to abolish it, but Texas and Florida both want to keep it. **

Cali only grew more worried when she saw that her boyfriend was trying to fight the North. She knew that the North was the power house of the country right now, and the South didn't like that.

**This war goes a lot deeper than just slavery**

**What do you mean?**

**I mean that Flo and Mass aren't going to ever get along, and that is a problem. **

**Don't worry about Florida, he's a good kid. **

**Not only that, but also that Brown guy. The one that started a riot. **

**He's just a crazy abolitionist, they hung him. **

**Wait, they HUNG him?!**

**Well yeah. **

**That's awful!**

**He committed high treason and murdered a couple people, Cali. That's no laughing matter. **

California set down her pet and sighed. She looked up at the council of men before her. At the head of the table, was Millard Fillmore. He sat in silence, rubbing his temples, and caught Cali's eye. She quickly looked away, but he stood up and said,

"Well, how about we ask California what she thinks? After all, it is her land."

Cali sat frozen for a second, but America stood up and said,

"Well, I'm sure Cali would love to give a speech!"

California stood up, and smiled at the men in the room. She was extremely nervous, but something about Fillmore's smile put her at ease.

_He is going to fix this, I swear. After all, he never doubted for a second who America really was. Not to mention he actually values my opinion._

She cleared her throat and said in a loud voice,

"Well, I believe that the institution of slavery is a very controversial subject."

The man sitting on her right muttered under his breath,

"That's why we're talking about it, you little brat."

She was tempted to take out her pick right there, but America sent her a warning look and she relaxed her shoulders,

"The point is, if this leads to war, it will not be pretty. I thought the Missouri thing was a good plan, but apparently my land causes a whole new set of problems. My opinion is.."

She trailed off and looked around the room. The men were on the edge of her seats, wanting to hear how their new state thought everything should go,

_Right when I start to ask for more people to not discard my thoughts is when they could start a war, great. _

"My opinion is to abolish slavery."

_Sorry Flo. _

The room erupted into more arguments, and America pulled her back down to her chair. He passed her another note,

**I agree but I've never had the guys to tell everyone, good job. **

**If this starts something major, Flo is gonna hate me. **

**Don't say that, Flo loves you. **

Cali sighed wistfully and looked back at the paper. Fillmore stood up again and asked her,

"Miss California, is it true that you happen to be dating another state?"

California began to sweat nervously as she answered him in a small voice,

"Yes sir, that's true."

"Would you mind telling us who that would be?"

"Florida, sir."

A few of the officials gasped at this. It seemed odd that Florida was dating this girl, yet she has a completely different opinion.

"Thank you, California, that's all."

She blushed at the sudden gaping at her, and the slight jealousy the men felt towards Florida. She scribbled on the piece of paper and handed it to America,

**That was so embarrassing. Why would he do that?**

**If the council hears from the state, it's customary to take their opinion into account. Now they all know for sure that what you said was coming from you, not anyone controlling you.**

**Wow that's actually pretty smart.**

**Fillmore's a pretty smart dude.**

**I thought he told you that you can't call him 'dude' anymore.**

**Well yeah, but does that stop me?**

**Does anything?**

**Good point.**

**I swear, these people all have anger issues or something. They need to just relax.**

**I've been telling them that for the past 100 years or so. But do they listen? Nope, not a chance. Just a 400 year old who can't think of anything of value.**

**Are you really 400?**

**I'm probably a bit older, but who knows. That's just around the time I was colonized.**

**So what are we gonna do about these guys?  
**

**It's best to just let them work it out.**

**What if they don't work it out or the wrong people win?**

**That's where I come in.**

**Do you really have that much say?  
**

**You know how the president can veto any law that comes from congress?**

**Yeah, of course.  
**

**Well it's like that. They know that I am the embodiment of the people so I really have the best say in the matter. **

**I wish I had that much power.  
**

**Oh right, how's Pete?**

**He made this awful speech about how we shouldn't let blacks into California.  
**

**Wait, really?**

**Yup. He's been getting a lot of criticism lately, but I can't say I feel too bad for him.  
**

**Wow.**

**I just hope my next boss won't be so bad.  
**

**I've had a lot of bosses, and let me tell you, some are wackos.**

**Like who?**

**Andrew Jackson.**

**What did he do?  
**

**He had this hickory cane that he used to carry around and beat people senseless with it.**

**Why would he do that?  
**

**Because he was a lunatic. **

**Well there you go.  
**

Some politician sitting a few seats away from America stood up and said in a loud voice, interrupting the note passing,

"Well, there have been rumors of war recently sir, and I would like to know what you are planning on doing about it. If we allow California to become a state without the legalization of slavery, the South will only get edgier."

At that moment, Florida walked in. He actually strolled in, very relaxed and calm, and pulled up a chair. He plopped down next to Cali and gave her a little peck on the cheek,

"Well? I'm just here to watch, pretend I'm not here."

Cali's face burned at the arm he slung across her shoulders, and she was grateful for the attention to leave her and go back to the problem at hand.

* * *

The meeting lasted only a few more hours, and it was late. Florida and California walked hand-in-hand down the dark street lit only by the moon. He pressed his lips to hers, and she quickly returned it. Without the supervision of the politicians, it was a lot more enjoyable to have his attention.

They continued their little journey down the road until they got to a park bench. They sat down together, both smiling and simply enjoying the others company. Cali kissed him again, a little bit more passionately this time, and soon they were sprawled out on the bench, panting from the lack of air.

Cali was on her back, with Florida on top of her, and she tugged on his collar to pull his face closer to hers. He put his hands on her hips, supporting himself with his knees, and greedily kissed her.

The two were too caught up in their heated romance, that neither noticed the time passing by. It was around 2 am by the time California realized that America must be worried sick over where she was. She sat up, ignoring Florida's complaints, and checked the time. She stood up, standing up Florida as well, and began to jog back to her house.

* * *

America paced back and forth in Cali's living room, the candles sitting on the table the only light, and thought to himself,

_Oh no, Cali's gone. Just gone! What am I gonna tell the council? 'Sorry, the most important lady in the state just wondered off and I let her go'! Oh yeah, that will go over well. Maybe she was caught by one of the anti-abolitionists! I knew it was too dangerous to voice her opinions in this strenuous time.  
_

Sacramento was laying down at the foot of the couch, huffing impatiently. He was worried that California wasn't there, and the other man hadn't fed him so he's worthless.

Then, the door is slowly creaked open, and Florida and California step in. America immediately sweeps her up in a rib-crushing hug, and says to her,

"I was terrified that one of the anti-abolitionists had gotten you! From now on, no more telling your opinion to the politicians, it's too dangerous."

Cali eventually gets America to let go of her, and in that time Florida had put together what America had said,

"Wait, what opinion?"

Cali glares at America briefly, and turns to Florida,

"Oh it's nothing. The council just wanted to see what my thoughts were."

"On what?"

_How am I gonna get out of this one?_

"Oh you know, the usual stuff."

"You mean slavery?"

California cringed at the word, and looked away from him,

"What did you tell them?"

"About slavery?"

"Yes, I want to know why your opinion would put you in danger."

Cali mustered up some courage, looked at him straight in the eye, and said in a calm voice,

"I told them slavery is wrong and we shouldn't institute it in my land."

Florida takes a step back, shocked by her words,

"I thought we were together on this."

Cali softens her gaze, and puts a hand on his shoulder,

"Look, it's just politics. It's nothing personal, honest."

She leans forward to give him a kiss, but he steps away and says to America,

"I think I'll be leaving now. Thank you for the offer, but I think I can find a place to stay at a hotel."

With a slight flourish, he opens the door and steps out into the night air. All Cali can do is watch him walk away as her heart beats faster and faster, and her hands tremble at her sides. When the door clicks into place once again, Cali whips around and sends a deathly glare at America,

"You just had to tell him. You couldn't have let me keep my ideas to myself?"

America backed up in fear, and smiled at her sheepishly,

"Sorry Goldie, it just slipped my mind. I can explain it to him."

She slowly advanced on America, hatred burning in her eyes, but suddenly her gaze weakens and pools of tears well up in her eyes. She lets out a choked sob and begins to bawl her eyes out. America steps forward and scoops the crying girl up in his arms. He takes her over to the couch and sits her down.

She continues to cry while clinging to America,

"I'm never going to fix this! What am I gonna do? I love him, but he just walked away!"

America stroked her hair soothingly, he had gotten much better at this parenting thing ever since he got Cali, and said to her,

"Oh Cali, he's so lucky to have you, it would be ridiculous for him to leave you."

When she didn't respond because, he continued,

"You're so beautiful, and I see the way he looks at you. I've never seen two people who fit so well together. I'm sure you two can make this work."

Cali sat up and rubbed her red-tinted eyes. She sniffed and said to him in a strained voice,

"Really?"

America smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I'm positive."

* * *

A week or so later, California received a letter from Florida. She debated for a few minutes whether or not to open it, before simply ripping off the envelope.

**California,**

**I am writing to you to express my deepest apologies.  
**

_Thank god._

**It was very impolite of me to just leave you. I completely understand why you would think such a thing. **

_This is wonderful!_

**If no one is there to lead you, how will you know what is right and wrong? I'm inviting you to one of my plantations so you can see the error of your ways.  
**

_Wait, what?_

**Once you see what it's like, you will gain a whole new perspective on things. I expect a letter soon to see your response. **

**I love you, **

**Florida**

Cali set the letter back on the table and sat in one of her chairs at the dinning table. She was outraged yet flattered at the same time. It was infuriating that he thought he had control over her, and that what she thought was wrong, but it was sweet that he was trying to spend more time with her, even if it was to see his farm. She had heard tales of the giant plantations that thrived in the South. The rolling fields of cotton and tobacco that stretched for acres and acres.

She took out a pen and wrote back to him,

**Florida,**

**It is so wonderful to hear from you. I would be delighted to spend more time with you, and I've heard so much about the South, yet I've never visited for too long. Don't expect me to be there for a while, I still have a lot to sort out over here. Not to mention the long journey from the West to the East. I promise I will come though. **

**I love you,  
**

**California**

She dotted the eyes and couldn't help but regret promising.

_But who knows?_

_I'm sure everything will work out._

* * *

Ohhhh ominous. Okay, so now we have more back story on the whole CalixFlo thing I cooked up. By the way, just imagine Florida the whole time with a nagging in the back of his mind like 'Weird, I think I may like guys. Oh well, I'll figure it out later.' I have a AU simmering in my Doc Manager right now for you guys. It'll be posted separately and it'll be a completely different storyline, a war one. I couldn't resist because of how much your characters change when you put them in a battle. Cali kicks ass, I warn you now. Anyway, thanks for reviewing! I would appreciate any corrections on the history because the only thing I had to work off was Google and an American Civil War book that I could only use for 10 minutes and I couldn't write anything down, so it's a little fuzzy. See you next time! ((Oh god I'm so tired))


	39. States on Skates

California was pacing by the phone, anxiously awaiting a call. The most important call in the history of calls. If she missed this one, it would all be over. At every little sound, she would dash to the phone, and instantly pick it up. The disappointment was growing by the second.

_It's okay Cali, Oregon didn't say he would call at any specific time. Calm down! _

She just couldn't help herself from getting paranoid.

_I bet he doesn't like you and just didn't want to be rude and say it flat out. He's probably laughing at you for even trying to talk to him._

In a rage, California picked up her cell phone, and chucked it out the window, where it landed in a rose bush, out of sight. She shouted, to no one in general,

"Forget it! I won't play these mind games!"

She took a few deep breaths and closed the window, but she was still steaming.'

_No point in getting more frustrated about it, let's just take a nap._

* * *

Oregon had the phone in his hand, trying to build up the nerve to dial to Cali. A few times he got really close, but at the last second he hung up.

_Wow Oregon, get a backbone! A very pretty girl has asked you to call her, and you can't man up for 5 minutes to invite her over? Just do it and get it over with!_

With his little mental pep-talk, he pressed the numbers he knew by heart into the keyboard. It rung a few times before going to voice mail. He felt his heart sink into his shoes, as he clicked the 'end call' button. Or at least, he thought he did. In actuality, he pressed the 'speaker phone' button, not that he realized that.

He set the phone back on the table and picked up his pet American Beaver,

"Oh Salem, why is it that I can't, for the life of me, talk to extremely gorgeous girls? Not that I know too many of those, I'm talking about California. You remember right?

She's the warm one with the bear?"

Salem made no response, but he just sat there on Oregon's lap, waiting for more affection. Oregon smiled and stroked his pelt,

"You see, this girl is like nothing else. Not only is she incredibly pretty, but she's also very smart, funny, and just all around pleasant. She could have anyone she wanted, so why did she want me to call her? I mean, I'm not complaining, so sir. I'm just worried that if I ask her on a date, she'll laugh in my face. She would be very justified to do so, but it would hurt. The fear of rejection is my biggest problem."

The phone on the table next to him beeped a few times, sending Oregon into a panic,

"THE PHONE'S STILL ON?!"

Before he can do anything about it, the message is sent and all Oregon can do is sit back down and dread the moment California checks her messages.

_Well, there goes my chances._

* * *

Speaking of California, she woke up from her 30 minute nap around the time the message was sent. She still was crabby though, and it didn't occur to her for another 20 minutes that she should probably get her phone.

She trudged out to the rose bush where it landed, and stuck her hand in. The thorns made no impact on her because of how grumpy she was. She brushed the leaves off the screen, and unlocked it. To her surprise, there was a new voice mail in her inbox, and it was from Oregon! Her heart skipped a few beats as she hurried back into the house to go listen to it,

"Oh Salem, why is it that I can't, for the life of me, talk to extremely gorgeous girls? Not that I know too many of those, I'm talking about California. You remember right?"

_Weird, it sounds like he didn't mean to- hold on. Extremely gorgeous? _

A goofy grin spreads across her face and a giddiness rises in her heart as she continues to listen.

"You see, this girl is like nothing else. Not only is she incredibly pretty, but she's also very smart, funny, and just all around pleasant. She could have anyone she wanted, so why did she want me to call her?"

California almost didn't catch the last part because of how delighted she was from the compliments,

"I mean, I'm not complaining, so sir, I'm just worried that if I ask her on a date, she'll laugh in my face. She would be very justified to do so, but it would hurt. The fear of rejection is my biggest problem."

_I wouldn't laugh! Not in a million years! How could he think something so preposterous? _

She almost did laugh, but not at his affection, at his silly worry over whether or not she would return it,

"THE PHONE'S STILL ON?!"

There were some more muffled sounds, then the message ended. Cali burst into laughter, and made sure to save that message. She called Oregon anxiously, and he picked up almost instantly,

"Cali, look I-"

"You what?"

"I'm sorry about that message, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just saying my opinion, you weren't meant to hear it"

Cali began to laugh again, and Oregon is confused by the laughter,

"What would make you think that I could possibly turn you down?"

Oregon gulped, his cheeks warming up,

"What?"

"Now, if you need a moment I can wait."

Cali bit her lip to keep from laughing again as Oregon stuttered,

"Well, I-I was wondering if you-if I could-if you would go ice skating with me at Mirror Lake?"

"That sounds lovely, I will see you in a few hours."

Cali and Oregon both hung up at the same time. Cali sprung into the air, punching upward and letting out a cry of sheer success and satisfaction. Oregon, on the other hand, nearly passed out. He slunk back into his chair and Salem waddled back over,

"Hey Salem, do you remember where I put my ice skates?"

* * *

Within the few hours Cali had promised, she was at Mirror Lake with Oregon. The sun was low in the sky by the time the two had slipped on their ice skates,

"You know, I'm not too good at ice skating."

Oregon helped Cali up and grabbed her hand,

"Well, I'll have to help you then, won't I?"

California swooned in her head, but managed to keep just a flattered smile in place. She would've liked to fling her arms around him there, but she lacked the balance to let go, and the timing was off.

Oregon and California were both decked out in complete winter gear, complete with gloves, thick coats, and woolen hats. Cali had little snow stuff, but Oregon gladly lent her some warmer clothing.

The two made their way to the middle of the frozen lake. Oregon slid on the icy surface with ease, but Cali was having trouble just standing up. She gripped his hand like a lifeline as he led her in a wide circle around the perimeter of the lake. She took little notice to the proximity of how close she was to Oregon, but he was quite aware of how he could see the steam of her breath in the cold air, the little movements in her feet as she shuffled on, and every little sound she would make in frustration because of how unstable the skates were.

* * *

Eventually though, she was able to coast along next to him with less faults and trips,

"Those people in the Winter Olympics are crazy."

Oregon chuckled and let go of her hand. She instantly began to fall again, so he took her hand once more. She grinned nervously,

"Whoops."

Oregon sped up a little, and she quickly adapted. Without even noticing, Cali had let go of his hand and was speeding around the lake. Oregon smiled, something that California seemed to cause a lot, and had to duck down to catch up with her. He had, once again, grabbed her hand, taking her by surprise. She squeeze his hand and leaned into him,

"I'm getting a little tired."

The sun had completely gone down by now, chilling Cali to the bone. She burrowed into his jacket as best as she could on skates. He wrapped an arm around her side and began to skate to the place the two had left their shoes,

"Well, let's go back to the cabin then."

When the two reached their real shoes, they quickly took the skates off and put them on.

* * *

It was a short walk back to the cabin, and soon the two had reached the front door. Oregon unlocked it hurriedly, and held the door open for his date.

Once Cali was inside and Oregon closed the door behind himself, she was warmed quickly by the roaring fire, so she removed her jacket and hat to avoid over-heating.

She sat down on the couch, and Oregon followed suit. It was a good thing that Cali quickly pulled him into a kiss, otherwise he probably would've said something stupid. Cali had her hands on his shoulder blades, and Oregon had his on her hips. She swung her leg around, positioning herself so she was sitting on his lap, and Oregon continued to engulf her lips in his. She had the taste of oranges lingering on her lips, her hair smelled like pomegranates, her whole body was a fruit basket of different delighting smells and tastes. This kiss, instead of quelling his desire to hold her, only amplified it.

Cali tilted her head to the left and slightly parted her lips. Her hips were pressed against his, and Oregon ran his hands up and down her sides. Her skin was silky smooth, inviting almost. Oregon broke away from her mouth, and then left a trail of lingering kisses down her neckline.

The two were caught up in a whirlwind of ecstasy and neither wanted it to end anytime soon. If their kiss at the Valentine's Ball had sparks, then this was America's 4th of July fireworks. California pulled back from him and slipped her shirt off, revealing a red lace bra. Oregon stops her from kissing him again and says,

"Cali, if I ever do anything you don't like, stop me. I don't want to hurt you."

California almost rolled her eyes, but then she saw the serious expression on his face and reassured him,

"Don't worry, you won't"

She captured his lips again, pressing her body into his. Oregon closed his eyes and let the sheer euphoria of the wonderful situation carry him away.

* * *

Cali and Oregon woke up the next morning wrapped in each others arms. They hadn't gotten to anything to serious, but both were lacking a shirt and Cali's pants were strewn on the floor a couple feet away. Oregon tried to get up, but Cali only tightened her grip on his middle,

"Cali, I have to get up."

She groaned in protest and nuzzled her face into his stomach, but let him stand up after. The coals from the fire were still smoldering, but it was substantially colder in the living room. He eventually found his plaid shirt, he threw it on then tossed Cali her shirt and pants. Cali stretched out on the couch, a little stiff from sleeping in a rather tight space. She put her clothes on too, then followed him to the kitchen.

The kitchen was soon filled with the mouth-watering scent of cooking french toast. Cali poured herself a glass of orange juice as Oregon flipped the bread over in the pan. She walked over to stand behind him at the stove, and wrapped her arms around his chest, smooching the back of his neck. Oregon slid the slice of toast onto a plate and handed it to her. She took it back over to the table, and began to spread butter on it. She took a bite, and was bowled over by how delicious it was,

"Wow Oregon, this is really good."

Oregon grinned as he walked over to join her at the table,

"I've had a lot of practice."

"It really shows."

They ate in comfortable silence for a while, but Cali took a moment to tell him,

"Next time, we're going to San Fransisco. No ice skating."

"I thought you liked the ice skating."

"What I liked was holding your hand."

Oregon drizzled more maple syrup over his toast,

"Fine, next time, your place."

Cali stood up and took her plate over to the sink,

"I better call Ari and let him know where I am. You know how he gets about this kind of thing."

_Oh no._

"Hey Ari! Oh, I'm at Oregon's place. Yeah, I spent the night."

_This can't be good._

"Ari? You there?"

_Arizona's going to kill me._

"What do you mean you'll be here in an hour?"

_This was totally worth it_

* * *

Yay! The first date/sexy time! You go Oregon! So, I'll be posting my War AU any day now, so be ready for that. Please review! Give me ideas too, I'm running out of plot bunnies as we speak! Thanks for everything, you wonderful people.


	40. The Dreaded Week

The lights were off, the blanket was pulled over her head, and depressing music played in the background.

Cali was wallowing in self-misery. She was in a lot of pain, the cramps were unbearable, and she felt like her legs had fallen off.

There was a soft knock on the door,

"Cali? Are you alright?"

As Colorado opened to door, Cali flung a pillow at him. Luckily, her aim was so off, he was able to avoid the fluffy projectile,

"Can I get you anything?"

Cali stuck her head out from underneath the blanket,

"Chocolate milk"

She then retreated back into her blanket safe house. Colorado sighed, and then went back down stairs. Colorado just shrugged then went to the fridge to prepare the drink.

* * *

"Why won't the world just shut up?"

Cali kept murmuring nonsense to herself as she attempted to ignore the stabbing pains in her stomach.

"I'm going to murder everyone, then raid a Hershey's factory."

Colorado knocked apprehensively on her door, and let himself in,

"Cali, you have a meeting with America and a few of the other today."

Cali had run out of things to fling at the door, so she just squeezed her eyes shut,

"What is the problem? Is there anything I can do?"

He set the glass of chocolate milk on her nightstand, the sat next to her on the bed. He could make out two garbled words from under the blanket,

"Girl problems"

* * *

America paced back and forth in the meeting room. The governors of Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, California, and New Mexico were all present. Unfortunately, Cali and Colorado were both absent so far.

America had tried stalling, but Arizona was only getting more and more worried as time went on. Not to mention Cali's and Colorado's bosses were nervous over where their states were.

Nevada had his head on the table, and was snoring loudly, and no matter how much his boss prodded him, he wouldn't wake up.

Utah was fiddling with his tie, and his boss did not look happy to be waiting.

New Mexico and his boss were both chatting quietly, until Colorado and Cali walked in.

Cali was wearing jeans, and a large UCLA sweatshirt. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and her usual flip-flops or high heels were replaced by comfortable running shoes.

She shuffled over silently, and sat down next to her boss at the table. Her eyes were half closed, and the blank expression on her features was rather odd to see on the customarily sunny girl.

When Colorado and Cali were seated, America cleared his throat and asked in an impatient tone,

"What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Cali said nothing, but directed a burning glare his way. Colorado spoke up on her behalf,

"Cali's feeling a little sick recently, and it took me a while to coax her out of her room"

"Sick? Is there something wrong with the economy again?"

Cali turned to her boss then said flatly,

"There's always something wrong with the economy."

She then pulled the hood over her head and crossed her arms, avoiding eye contact with anyone else.  
America, sick and tired of California's attitude and lack of enthusiasm, said to her,

"Angel Carrideo Jones, you are going to stop being so snippy right this second! I'm tired too, but you don't see me pouting in my chair like that! I don't care if you are feeling sick, that's no reason to be so rude to us!"

There was a moments delay, and then Cali is in tears. She puts her head down on the table, but the loud, pitiful noises are hard to miss. The room turned to America, who was petrified with fear, all brandishing glares at him.

Cali pulled a few tissues from her purse and wiped her eyes. She took a few deeps breaths to calm herself down, and said,

"I'm sorry. My emotions are a little out of whack this week."

She excused herself from the room, leaving the group to discuss what might be wrong with Cali.

Jan Brewer, Arizona's boss, said,

"Well isn't it obvious? The poor girl is going through her time of the month."

Susana Martinez, New Mexico's boss, nodded in agreement. Everyone else stared at the two with blank expressions. Colorado piped up,

"What does that mean?"

Brewer stuttered for a moment, unsure of how to answer, but Martinez jumped in with,

"It's a girl thing. It happens for a week out of every month. She's having cramps, mood swings, and all sorts of other hormone things."

Arizona was wide-eyed and studied his boss with astonishment,

"Why have we never heard of this?"

"It's rather taboo to bring it up, especially around boys. Haven't you ever noticed your own sister acting strangely?"

Nevada brought up,

"I'm not really known for my observing skills."

At that moment, Cali walked back in and sat down at her seat. She looked considerably calmer now, thank god. America said to her in a concerned tone,

"Goldie, if you want to just sit this one out, it's okay."

Cali smiled briefly, then tunneled into her jacket to sleep.

* * *

Though the meeting probably would've gone better and/or faster with California awake, no one wanted to risk pushing the girl any further.

When it was over, Arizona carefully poked at the mess of cloth where Cali was snoozing. She, slowly but surely, emerged from the giant sweatshirt. She had a somewhat delirious, dopey smile on her face and rubbed her eyes sleepily,

"Hey Ari. I hope I didn't mess up too much."

Arizona sighed, and then picked her up, bridal style, from the chair. California, happy she didn't have to move her legs, wrapped her arms around his neck.

It was a rather cute sight, and Mrs. Brewer couldn't stop a smile from creeping onto her face when she saw the two. America was ankle-deep in papers, furiously scribbling away at them one at a time, and didn't notice the sweet scene.

Nevada took his flask from his pocket, and took a drink,

"So does this mean no Enchilada Night?"

Colorado shrugged and said to him teasingly,

"It's going to turn into Chocolate Night if we invite Cali."

* * *

The instant Arizona dropped her off at her house, she bolted upstairs to take a bath. A pleasant one with lots of bubbles.

The warm water was soothing for her cramps, and the aroma of her forest scented candle was very therapeutic. Soft music was playing in the dark bathroom, and Cali was laying in the tub, with one foot sticking out, and her hair up in a sloppy bun.

_Ah, much better._

Then, the worst thing possible happened, there was a knock at the door. She groaned in frustration, then sent Sacramento to the door.

He bounced down the stairs, glad to have something to do, then used his nose to work the door open.

In general, when you visit someone's house, and you expect a stunningly beautiful girl to open the door, then a bear opens it instead, you panic. This was no different for New York.

He leaped a few feet in the air, flailing the whole time, then fell flat on his back. Sacramento cocked his head to the left, then went over to York and sniffed him. When Sacramento had decided that his scent was familiar and safe, he stepped back. York got up and brushed himself off,

"Now, where was I? Oh yes, Sacramento?"

When the bear seemingly nodded, much to York's surprise, he continued,

"Where is California?"

Sacramento walked inside and York followed him. He followed him all the way to the bathroom door, where he heard gentle music.

It was fine for Sacramento to push his way into the room, but York hung back in the hallway.

Cali raised her head to see who had come into the bathroom, and was pleased to see it was Sacramento,

"Who was at the door buddy? Was it those Mormons again?"

Sacramento shook his head and wiggled his bottom,

"That doesn't help."

York peered into the room, and he wasn't prepared for what he saw.

Cali was leaning over the edge of the tub, the only thing keeping her barely decent was a layer of white bubbles. He flushed, embarrassed to see her practically naked, and pulled his head back in.

Cali scratch Sacramento behind his ears affectionately,

"Sacramento, was it important?"

The bear, who was growing impatient with the pointless game of charades, strode over back to the hallway, and pulled York in.

Cali let out a squeak of surprise, and dove under the water. York turned and faced the wall, cursing the bear for dragging him in, and said to her,

"Um, hi Cali. Let it be known that this was not my idea."

Cali gathered up the bubbles in the water to cover herself as best she could, and felt immensely grateful that he turned away,

"No harm done. What can I help you with?"

York walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him, but not before saying,

"It's nothing. I'll call you later."

* * *

York closed her front door slowly, then looked around to make sure no one was watching. When no one was, he screamed at the top of his lungs,

"EVERY DAMN TIME!"

* * *

Short chapter for you guys because I am really tired and I feel super uninspired. By the way, go check out my other story. It's a AU for Cali, and I hope you like it. Anyways, thanks for your support as usual, and I feel obligated to do a shout-out to Where's the mayo for all your wonderful reviews, please continue to do so! Please review, you incredible people, and see you next time!


	41. The Ancients

California awoke from a nightmare in a cold sweat. She was breathing hard, the terror of her dream still fresh in her mind. She had dreamt of a world with no Starbucks. It was bleak, and she felt extremely dreary the entire time.

Checking the clock and seeing that it was around 4 am, she got up to go to the kitchen for a glass of warm milk.

She really wasn't prepared for what she saw when she turned around from the fridge.

Standing in her kitchen, were three people she had not seen in a very long time,

"Aztec? Maya? Inca?"

Maya smiled warmly at her, Inca laughed at her amazed expression, and Aztec winked cheekily.

Cali dropped the milk jug she was carrying, and ran forward. She crushed her three brothers in a group hug, forgetting once again of her immense strength.

Inca, whose ribs were slowly being compressed, said in a choked voice,

"Alta! Let go!"

Cali smiled at the name she had forgotten of, and let go. The three all gasped for breath, and sat down around the table. Cali sat down with them and said in an almost tearful voice,

"I haven't seen you guys in so long! I'm so glad you're back!"

Maya chuckled and patted her arm,

"About that, we just came to visit you this one time."

Cali's face fell,

"Aw, but I want to show you all the wonders of modern technology!"

Inca and Aztec turned to Maya with puppy dog pouts, and they said in unison,

"Can we Maya?"

He shook his head, but he looked sad too,

"Our time will run out in a few hours. Make this count."

Inca ran his hands through his spiky brown hair,

"Well Alta, to start off, the reason we disappeared like that was because.."

He trailed off, fumbling to find the words to continue, but Maya butted it,

"It was the conquistadors. Some of our culture survived luckily, but us, not so much."

Aztec smiled once again at the girl,

"I'm just glad you ended up safe. What happened when Spain found you?"

She told them the long story of her being found, then practically enslaved, then onto the time she was under Mexico's control. The empires were silent all throughout and Cali only stopped her story when Sacramento came into the room.

Inca leaped up, and wrapped his arms around the furry bear. Sacramento was puzzled for a second, before recognizing the scent of the man, and rubbing his nose against the man's neck affectionately.

Maya chuckled at the two,

"Your pet has certainly gotten bigger since we last saw him."

"Oh definitely! His name is Sacramento now, by the way."

Inca was still embracing the bear, when Aztec said,

"So are you still under Mexico's control, Alta?"

"My name is California now, actually, but you can call me Cali. I'm only called Alta when Baja California is around."

Maya looked confused, but asked nothing more so Cali continued on to explain the Mexican-American war and how America purchased her from Mexico because of a treaty.

She smiled devilishly to Aztec when she finished with that explanation,

"Guess what Aztec?"

Aztec tilted his head,

"We found gold in my land. A lot of it."

His jaw hit the floor. Aztec has a thing for gold and his eyes lit up at the thought,

"Where is it?"

"It's long gone now. The 49ers came and mined it all. Afterward, the miners settled here. That's when I became apart of America. You know, that country that- oh wait. Right, you guys were gone by then."

Maya asked her reassuringly,

"Will you tell us what America is, sweetie?"

Cali told her all about the English settlement in the land where the other natives used to live and how they were all moved out of their land to her current brother's place.

Inca rejoined them at the table and said,

"Brother? You got a replacement family?"

Cali smiled and shook her head,

"Nope. No one could replace you guys, but the land I used to represent was split up and my brothers were born. I didn't exactly have a say in the matter, but it's not that bad."

She got out a picture from their last family camping trip, and tried to explain who everyone was, but Aztec saw the photograph and was mesmerized by the beautiful picture,

"Look at the detail on that painting! What great artist made this piece?"

"It's not a painting, Aztec. It's a photo. You can capture moments with this thing called a camera."

"Camera? How does that work?"

Cali opened her mouth to tell them how a camera worked, until she realized she had no idea. She just shrugged, which only confused the empires to a further level.

Cali was a little embarrassed that she created an AI practically from scratch, but had no clue how a camera worked.

* * *

Cali spent the next hour or so talking with her brothers. At one point, they had her stand up as to compare their heights. She was still a bit shorter than Inca, but could use Maya as an arm rest and was a head taller than Aztec.

She glanced at the clock and saw that a few hours had passed, and her spirits fell. She looked at the cheery faces that had become blurs in her memory over the years, and tried to study them as best she could to preserve the image in her mind.

Aztec saw the small frown on her face, and felt sad himself. He hadn't seen his little sister for so long. When she didn't show up in heaven with the rest of them, he was very worried. He had felt like the weight of responsibility fell on his shoulders to watch after the little girl, but now he knows that she is more than capable of taking care of herself,

"Alt-or California, how about we take one of those fancy pictures? As a family thing, seeing as we have never had one. Well, except a few temple paintings, but those don't really count."

Cali cheered up again, and took off to find her camera. By the time she had found it and came down stairs, the three men were all standing in the middle of the kitchen, waiting for her. She instructed them to smile, then set up a timer on the camera. She skipped over to stand next to them and smiled as brightly as she could.

The light blinked a few times, then there was a flash and the picture was saved.

Cali dashed over to see it,

"California, we love you. Stay safe."

She looked up with a confused expression adorning her face, but she saw that they had already disappeared. Her face fell as she stared at the place they had been standing just seconds ago.

Her heart sank even further as she looked at the picture. She thought that having the picture would be a cheerful reminder of her lost brothers, but more than anything it just made her sad.

She left the camera on the counter, and trudged back up to bed.

* * *

She woke up the next morning with a start. Something downstairs had crashed to the ground, waking her up in the process.

Cali slid her slippers on, and galloped downstairs.

Arizona was in the kitchen, a pile of shattered china at his feet. He blushed sheepishly, embarrassed to have broken a dish and woken her up simultaneously,

"Sorry Cali."

She got out a dust pan and broom and quickly swept it up into the trash,

"No biggie, Ari. That was a clearance plate from San Fran, I can always get another one."

"Still, I woke you up."

Cali smiled at him, dusting her hands off on her fuzzy pajama pants,

"It was going to happen anyway. So what brings you here?"

"Just checking up on you. Also, to show you this,"

He handed her a official-looking document, adorned with long words that Cali either didn't know the meaning of, or couldn't even pronounce,

"What's this?"

Arizona gestured to the paper patiently,

"Read it."

There was a moments pause while Cali scanned the page as best her ability. Then a smile bloomed on her face and she clapped Arizona on the back,

"I always knew Jan was a smart one. Good for her, vetoing that anti-gay bill. If only there were more people that thought like that."

"She thought you might like that."

Cali handed the paper back to him, and then went to the fridge,

"Want anything to eat? I'm gonna make myself breakfast."

Arizona thanked her, but refused seeing as he had already eaten. Cali got out the eggs, and began to make french toast, while Arizona looked around the room. He came across the camera, and flicked it on, curious as to why it was out,

"Who are the people in this picture? It says it was taken last night."

Cali stopped whisking the eggs for a second to look at the picture,

"Last night, I'm not sure how, but my brothers, my old brothers, appeared in my kitchen."

"You don't mean-"

"That's Aztec, Inca, and Maya."

Arizona was at a loss for words, more than he usually was, and only stared at the picture as he took in what the three ancients he had never met look like,

"It was good to see them again, even if it was only briefly. You would've liked Maya. You remind me of him, sweet, caring, a good shot, the whole shebang."

Flattered by her words, Arizona put the camera back on the counter where he had found it.

Cali plopped the egg-soaked slice of bread into the pan, and then prodded it with a spatula,

"Well Ari, you got your ticket to New Jersey? The meeting is soon, right?"

Arizona grunted unhappily at the thought of another meeting,

"Maybe this meeting will be the one where no body yells at anyone, and we can actually get work done."

Cali giggled at his blatant sarcasm,

"That's a tall order. I guess we'll see, huh?"

* * *

I AM SO SORRY I HAVE FAILED YOU I SWEAR IT WASN'T ENTIRELY MY FAULT! The website wasn't loading, then I had a family thing, then I had total writers block, it was a dominoes effect. I'm going to give you a chapter tomorrow too just to make up for it. I think, who knows? Anyway, thanks to everyone who went and checked out the other story! Just another heads-up, that one will only be updated once a week, I'm thinking every Tuesday or Wednesday. Please review and thanks to everyone who has reviewed!


	42. Beware the State Meetings!

The most brutal, agonizing, and down right abominable thing a state could be subjected to, happened to be one of the most common instances in their lives.  
State meetings.

A room filled with 50 teenagers, some pyromaniacs, all with around 100 years worth of grudges and you can't leave for an hour or until all the topics are covered.

Though it was a bit hilarious to see everyone yelling their heads off at each other, it gets very loud. Most states keep multiple bottles of Advil on hand to deal with the pounding headaches that were brought on by the constant clanging of Ohio's frying pan on Pennsylvania's head.

Did I mention that each and everyone of them wants their say in the matter before anything gets done? The last time the meeting ended early was in 1787, which was when only three states were in the union.

Cali dreads the days she has to subject herself to such torture.

_It has to be done, DC will kill me if I ditch another one of these._

* * *

The plane ride to New Jersey, she hates planes but it's better than a train and shorter than driving, was long, bumpy, and stuffy. She barely got any sleep because of some annoying brats screaming at each other and the mom of them wasn't much help.

_If I ever have kids, which I probably won't, I will never take them on a plane._

She stepped off, took a deep breath of clean air, and set off to get a cab. A yellow car instantly stopped in front of her, and she climbed in,

"Take me here, please."

She handed her driver a slip of paper she had jotted down the address of the meeting room, and then sat back in her seat. Her driver was a plump old woman, she looked as though she would rather be anywhere else besides here.

_You and me both, lady._

"If you don't mind me asking, what brings you to Trenton, miss?"

Cali sighed and told her drearily,

"Business."

"Well you don't sound very happy about it."

"That's because I'm not."

The driver chuckled a bit before asking,

"What business are you in, exactly?"

Cali thought for a moment,

"This may come as a surprise, but, politics."

"Really? A young woman such as yourself, in politics?"

"Let's just say, wasn't my first choice."

* * *

The rest of the ride to the meeting was spent in reserved conversation with the polite driver. Once they had reached the building where they had been instructed to go, and the fare was paid, Cali stepped inside.

She shed her jacket, handing it to one of the petite attendants, then walked down the hall to where they would be discussing world affairs and such. The room was already filled to the brim with bickering states.

Cali took her seat by Arkansas and Colorado, they were in alphabetical order, and began playing Flappy Bird on her phone.

* * *

New Jersey said in an exceptionally booming voice into the microphone at the front of the room,

"Okay! Everyone's here, so let's get started! You'll all be glad to know that we only have one topic to cover this time."

A chorus of relived hoots and hollers boomed out, and she raised her hands to quiet them,

"The sooner we start, the sooner we can get out of here. Let's start with the drought that's going on in the West right now."

Someone shouted out,

"Suck it up, westies! We had to go through the polar vortex, it's about time you guys had some actual problems!"

That outburst brought on a whole new wave of screams, threats, and all sorts of things enraged states do when subjected to others.

Cali pulled her speech out of her bag, and stepped up to the microphone. She cleared her throat in an assertive matter,

"All feuds aside, the west is in a lot of trouble right now. Agriculture accounts for 80% of water consumption in my land, for example, but only 2% of economic activity. Farmers flood the land to grow rice, alfalfa and other thirsty crops. By one account, over the years they have paid just 15% of the capital costs of the federal system that delivers much of their irrigation water. If water were priced properly, it is a safe bet that they would waste far less of it, and the effects of California's drought—its worst in recorded history—would not be so severe."

The lights dimmed, and the screams from the states turned into quiet murmurs. A slide from her well-prepared slide-show flashed up on the wall behind her. The picture was a map of California to Texas, with red color-coding to show where the drought was most prominent. The darkest shade of red was most present in California, but was also strong in Nevada and parts of Colorado,

"On January 17th Governor Jerry Brown urged Californians to cut water use by 20% and issued a drought declaration, which loosens the rules restricting in-state water transfers. Last week Barack Obama visited Fresno, in California's fecund Central Valley, to announce $183m of federal aid before spending three days golfing on well-watered courses in the desert. This week California's leaders pledged a further $687m in drought relief."

She took a pause for this information to soak in, then continued on,

"Drought is also afflicting my neighbors to the east. But they, along with me, are grappling with a longer-term problem: the Colorado river, which waters seven states (plus part of Mexico), is struggling to service its clients. Thanks to declining flows, last year the Federal Bureau of Reclamation (FBR), which oversees its use, cut the release of water from Lake Powell on the Arizona-Utah border to Lake Mead, America's largest reservoir. It has never done this before.

Colorado sighed deeply, briefly bringing attention to himself, before Cali continued reciting the speech,

"Traditionally the West has tried to engineer its way out of water problems, and that approach is not dead in Nevada. Greater Las Vegas, where most Nevadans live, depends on Lake Mead for 90% of its water, but before long the lake is expected to fall below the level of the first of two pipes that connect it to the city. So officials are building a deeper $816m "third straw" to maintain supply. They also want to lay a 300-mile pipeline to bring water from Nevada's sparsely populated north to Las Vegas, a controversial plan some compare to Los Angeles's removal of water from the Owens Valley 100 years ago."

Nevada nodded in agreement, daring anyone to claim his suffering false or that he should 'suck it up',

"Contrary to popular belief, I do drink something other than whiskey."

A few laughed, but most stayed grimly silent as Cali went on with her deadpan appeal,

"Unhappily for Nevada and Arizona, my problems are also theirs. Southern California is entitled to 4.4m acre-feet of Colorado water a year, mainly for farmland in the Imperial Valley. Under a 2007 agreement the three states may store water they do not need in Lake Mead for later withdrawal. Because of this drought, California is now drawing down the 580,000 acre-feet it has saved in recent years; it took around 80,000 in 2013. That is hastening the day when Mead falls below 1,075 feet (it is currently at 1,109) and compulsory cuts kick in. For complex historical reasons Nevada and Arizona will lose a combined 500,000 acre-feet a year before my citizen have to give up a drop."

She sent a glance of apology to her brothers, who both shrugged at her. It wasn't her fault, after all, and who can stay mad at California?

"Cities in dry places like Israel and Australia still consume far less water than Las Vegas. Other cities in the West have a long way to go: half the houses in Sacramento do not meter water; Palm Springs, close to where Mr Obama teed off this weekend, still peddles the old illusions of desert verdancy. As for water trading, it is underdeveloped within states, let alone between them."

She took a moment to drink from her glass of water, emphasizing her point of how desperately they need water by downing the entire thing in one go.

"Most of the future growth in water demand is likely to come from cities. Some therefore argue that urbanites should bear the burden of reducing demand. This is too kind to farmers, who waste far more. Crops that cannot be grown without subsidies should not be grown. It should not take a drought to make people stop building paddy fields in the sand."

She reorganized the papers in her hand, then took her seat once more as the lights turned back on.

New Jersey stepped back up to the microphone and said,

"Thank you, California. Now, would anyone like to say anything else pertaining to the drought?"

The calm orderly peace that New Jersey had so delicately kept shattered in the next few seconds,

"Just stop farming if it's that bad, Cali!"

Cali shouted back,

"I would if I could, smart one. Not all of us are industrial freaks!"

"Better than being a hippie-dippy tree-hugger!"

Colorado had to grab her by the shoulders to keep her from going over to Connecticut and bashing his head in with her pick,

"Some of us are trying to help the environment, not hurt it!"

"Shut up Washington, go back to your coffee and leave us alone!"

"What the hell is wrong with coffee?"

Alaska said in her cool tone,

"Everybody just calm down-"

She stopped when a carton of milk flew across the table, apparently thrown by Wisconsin at Kentucky,

"How do you like my milk now, Tucky!"

"I told you not to call me that, cheese head!"

Indiana jabbed Illinois in the side,

"While we're on the topic of names, Illinoi**s**-"

"For the last time, the s is silent you prick!"

In retrospect, maybe sitting the states alphabetically wasn't the best idea. A seating chart based on relations would be ideal, and would keep those two from trying to tear out the others neck,

"Honestly, you're all so immature."

West Virginia looked past Washington to look at his sister,

"Ginny, don't act so high and mighty. We all know you watch wrestling."

The states that heard this all broke into laughter and Virginia broke out into a bright red blush. Meanwhile, Nevada was draped over New Hampshire, who was seated next to him,

"Come on Hampshire, one weekend! Let's go to Vegas, you'll love it!"

New Hampshire pushed him off of her, and edged away,

"I tell you this every time Nevada, I don't gamble! Leave me alone!"

Nebraska said carelessly,

"I'll go with you."

Nevada smiled at him for a second, then went back to drinking his scotch.

Cali tapped her foot impatiently as Indiana and Illinois continued to bicker back and forth, calling each other names, and eventually slipping into mindless French insults.

Iowa and Idaho attempted to calm the two down, but it was in vain. Less than a fifth of the people present could completely understand them, and the rest simply ignored them.

Ohio took out his pan and raised it to bring it down on Penn's silver hair, but Michigan caught it,

"Oh, hi O."

She smirked as Ohio squirmed to get his weapon back,

"Give it, you lake whore!"

Michigan's smirk dissipated quickly and she proceeded to bash him with his own pan,

"You're one to talk, Mr. River Valley."

"Don't be jealous just cause two countries fought over me and not you."

Texas rolled his eyes,

"Ohio, you need to get over that. They fought a war over me too."

Michigan and Ohio went back to chucking insults at the other while Cali rooted for Ohio. It wasn't because she liked Ohio, more she disliked Michigan and enjoyed seeing her taken down a few pegs.

Georgia and Florida just cuddled up next to each other to watch the pandemonium unfold and to not get involved.

DC would've said something, he was siting on Florida's other side, but he got a glance from Cali and decided to stay silent.

New Jersey tried to get everyone to calm down. Emphasis on tried. This was just how most states released their energy and anger. By mercilessly using the other states as scapegoats to avoid dealing with their own problems,

"No body likes you Texas! Sometimes I wish you had seceded from the United States!"

The room stopped, frozen. All the arguments came to a halt as they watched Oklahoma and Texas intently,

"You don't mean that."

"Yes, I do. I'm sure everyone else agrees with me too."

Cali shook her head in disapproval,

"That's a pretty low blow, dude."

Wyoming nodded,

"Yeah, uncool."

Oklahoma waved her arms around in a rage,

"I don't care what you think! He is so stuck-up and obnoxious!"

New Jersey pointed out,

"If anyone's stuck-up and arrogant, it's New York."

"Hey!"

Washington said,

"Actually, I would have to say it's California."

"What's your problem with me? Is it that I have more sun than you?"

"Come to think of it,"

Rhode Island tapped his chin in thought for a moment before continuing,

"The more arrogant and stuck-up you are, the more popular you are."

Nobody spoke for a moment while Texas, York, and Cali exchanged glances,

"Well,"

Cali bit her lip,

"I think that we're all special."

York rolled his eyes,

"Here comes the Disney morale of the day."

"I'm serious Yorkie! Everyone here has at least something unique about them! Otherwise, everyone would live in California, or Texas, or New York."

DC stood up and said professionally,

"Well, this has been a wonderful self-esteem seminar, thank you Cali, but I have some actual work to do. It may come as a surprise, but my job requires more than babysitting all of you wackos."

He gathered up his stuff, walked to the door, and on his way out he said,

"Meeting dismissed."

In the mad scramble to get out of their as soon as possible, no body heard Maine say quietly,

"I think California has a point."

Quiet little Maine was used to being ignored however, and simply picked up her stuff and waited for the crowd to disperse before leaving herself.

* * *

The only two left in the room after the majority of the states had left, was California and Maine.

Cali was trying to find the last page of her speech which she had crumpled up into a ball and thrown at Michigan's head sometime during the meeting, and took no notice to the quiet reserved girl that approached her,

"Um, hello."

Cali murmured to herself,

"Where is that darn paper?"

"California?"

Cali dropped her speech in shock and turned around to see who had spoken,

"Oh, it's you! Sorry, I thought I was alone in here."

Maine tucked a strand of hair behind her ear nervously,

"I just wanted to tell you that I liked your speech."

"Thanks, I wrote it myself."

Cali tilted her head in thought and smiled blankly at her,

"I'm sorry, I can't remember your name."

"It's fine, I'm used to it. I'm Maine."

Cali stuck put her hand in a goofy fashion,

"Well Maine, it's nice to see you again."

Maine shook it cautiously,

"Do you need help?"

"Help?"

"With your speech. You dropped it, remember?"

Cali let go of her hand and looked at the floor to where the papers had landed,

"Sure! I'll take any help I can get."

The two went to work, picking up the papers one by one and putting them back in order,

"Thanks for your help Maine. Hey, do you want to grab a bite to eat with me?"

Maine stammered in shock, rubbing her hands together, and a small rosy blush appeared on her face,

"Uh, I mean-sure."

Cali smiled at her,

"No need to be scared of me! Trust me, I'm only mean to the people who deserve it, and you are far from deserving it."

"Who exactly deserves it?"

"Mostly Michigan. But other people too, like stupid congress men and terrorists. That's kinda more picture though."

Maine nodded and stayed silent as she and Cali left the building.

* * *

One shots? More like Cali befriending all of the super shy states and then also being bad-ass. What can I say, she's super loud and obnoxious but really good with people. Especially if those people are super quiet. It's been killing me, I needed to make a chapter with a state meeting and I tried to cover all that I could. Give me a heads up if I got anything wrong or if I should add any major rivalries. Anyway, happy 42nd chapter! (Let me know if yo get that reference) This is somewhat an apology chapter due to my three-day hiatus. I'm back on schedule now, so expect one on Tuesday! Please review and thanks to everyone who has! Give me your ideas for one shots too! See you next time!

Gah! I totally forgot to credit The Economist for their wonderful article on the drought from which I basically copy and pasted it into the doc. Thank you! The credit is all yours.


	43. We Can Do It!

The house was unusually quiet. Ever since the majority of the boys had left home to go fight in Europe and all the states that had stayed had been sent to DC for protection, they were used to lazy afternoons such as this one.

Cali sat at the table next to Hawaii. She had been released from the hospital recently. Hawaii would cough every now and then, jolting California back to the present. Hawaii was in a wheelchair, still recovering, and it was up to Cali to push her around and take care of her.

Virginia walked calmly into the living room where the majority of the girls were and turned on the radio,

**"Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces, with the un-bounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph. So help us God." **

"Turn that thing off, will you Ginny? We've heard this before."

It was President Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous speech concerning the attack on Pearl Harbor that had happened only weeks before. Hawaii whimpered and held out a hand to California, who took it quickly and began to rub comforting circles around the bandages,

"I just want to hear what's going on over seas. Don't worry, I think it's over."

A little while after Hawaii had been attacked and the US had joined the Allies, America and the rest of the male states all left to go fight in the war. That left the other states all alone in the big mansion in DC to check the mail religiously and eat bland rationed food. Though none of them would admit it, all of them were incredible bored without all the rowdy boys running around all the time. It didn't help that South Dakota and South Carolina were both super attached to their twins and isolated themselves from the rest of the group,

"The post is here!"

Everyone sprang up, and ran over to Louisiana who was holding a stack of envelopes over her head. California rooted through the pile to find her brother's letters. When they had left, Cali made them promise to write any time they could, even if they had to all write on one letter she wanted to know what was going on. Arizona and New Mexico had grown up so much in the past years, but she still was looking out for them. She sat next to Hawaii back at the loveseat and tore open New Mexico's letter,

**California,**

** It's been getting better since me and Ari have gotten here. All the others are nice, but they treat us like we're kids. Oh, if only they knew. Everyday, I thank whatever power watches over us that America is still safe. America is apart of the air force along with North Carolina. They fly those Mustangs like they've done it their whole life. If anything happened to him, morale would only get worse. Anyway, I'm running out of room on the page and I don't want to upset you any more than necessary. I love you and take good care of Hawaii. I'll be back home soon.**

**With love, New Mexico**

California handed that letter to Hawaii so she could read it herself, and ripped Arizona's open,

**California,**

** I can't tell you how pleased the Lieutenant is that I have such good aim. I'm not one to brag, but those years of archery have really paid off. The swap from bow to gun is almost nonexistent. I'm just not sure if I could hurt anyone. These people I'm fighting have families, friends, sisters, I can't imagine what it would be like to be responsible for taking someone's cherished life. I swear, this war is going to turn me into a philosopher. I love you Cali. Tell everyone I send my regards. **

**Arizona**

Cali grabbed Utah and Colorado's letter next,

**Cali and Hawaii,**

** Greetings from Italy! It's just like your place Cali, except more tanks and less movie stars. I can't understand a single word the locals say, but it all sounds like the songs you used to sing us all the time when we were little. Me and Utah have to share this letter so now it's Utah's turn to write. I love you guys! **

**Colorado**

**The others here seem to have something to cling to. A photograph, a trinket, a song, I have my Book of Mormon. I've never been so glad to have it. The guys don't make fun of me for it luckily, but they all act like I'm too innocent to do any damage. Little do they know how much practice I have with a gun hunting buffalo. (Try to ignore Colorado's stupid section and just focus on the fact that he's alive) I love you and I'll be home soon.**

**Utah.**

Nevada's letter smelled of bourbon but Cali still tore it open with her bare hands,

**Cali,**

** You will not believe all the alcohol they have in England. Not to mention the wine they got in France and Italy. It, obviously, would be better if we didn't have Krauts firing at us day and night. Being a foot soldier involves a lot more walking than I had anticipated, by the way. I can't think of anything else that you would like to hear, so just let the ladies back home know that we'll all be home in a jiffy. **

**Love, Nevada**

Cali sighed and looked over at Hawaii who was devouring the words from Arizona's letter as though it was terms of Germany's surrender. She passed on the next letter to her, then went to the radio again. It was playing a upbeat war time song. Cali smiled slightly and turned the knob so the song grew louder and louder until she had everyone's attention.

Grabbing Maryland's hands and twirling her around, the atmosphere immediately shifted to a more light hearted one. Soon everyone was dancing to the little jingle on the radio,

_**He's a boogie-woogie bugle boy of company B**_

Cali smiled as widely as she could with the weight of worry on her shoulder and let the rhythm of the song carry her feet and soon she found herself extremely tired. The song ended with a flourish, and a more slow paced and depressing one came on. The group of dancers quickly disbanded, and soon Cali was carrying Hawaii upstairs to bed. It was still a bit early, but Hawaii needed her rest more than anybody,

"But Cali I don't wanna sleep!"

Hawaii's eyelids were drooping even as she said it, and she quickly curled up into the bed sheets where Cali then tucked her in,

"Of course you don't. You just really need to sleep, okay? You're still healing."

Hawaii yawned,

"Night Cali. I love you."

Cali pecked her on the forehead,

"I love you too little flower."

The lights were soon switched off and the door closed.

* * *

"I just feel so worthless. So powerless. Our family is over there, fighting for us, and we can't do a thing for them!"

"Oh just sit down already. Let me eat in peace."

Cali slammed her fork down on the table,

"I'm serious Oklahoma! Us women are utterly useless during war and I'm sick of it!"

Nobody responded to her out burst so she just continued on,

"The Canadians have 'Ronnie, the Bren Gun Girl', so why can't we have someone? Someone to get women everywhere to stand up and take control of the jobs their husbands left behind."

She hopped up from the table, rolling up one of the sleeves on her blue denim shirt and grabbing Kansas's red bandana. She pulled her hair back, and tied the bandana as a headband. She put one foot on her chair and made a fist. She began to roll up the other sleeve with her free hand hand and said,

"We can do it!"

The other girls looked bewildered but Alabama spoke up,

"California, I think you're the only one here qualified to get a movement started. You have my support, if you need it."

The Cali's meager dinner went cold on the table as she phoned every newspaper, magazine, and producer she knew of.

Her charisma quickly won them over and soon Rosie the Riveter was born. A national symbol for women all over the country to take over the work the men had left behind.

A message in black ink was all they needed. An inspiration, a spark, a pair of pants maybe, and soon the factories were running. They were producing bullets, war heads, anything and everything they would need to fight (and win for that matter) a war.

* * *

"Hey, America! Check this out!"

America lowered the newest edition of Captain America to see what DC was bringing over. He had a slip of paper in his hands, a small square that was full of color.

**Dear Boys,**

** We, the women of the US, have taken it upon ourselves to take care of you silly men. Don't worry, we can take care of the factories without you.  
**

Under the short passage, was a full color image of a woman, a strong woman who looked like she was not going to put up with any nonsense. America smiled at the photo, proud that his little girls sure as hell could run a country by themselves.

* * *

Oh no, it's short I know. I'm sorry! It's hard to write, you know? I had this idea a little while back, but I never had the guts to type it up. I love Rosie, and I really wanted Cali to think that one up. By the way, the reason North Carolina is a pilot, is because Orville and Wilbur Wright, who invented the plane, were from North Carolina. Anyways, please review and correct me on any historical inaccuracies that I may have written. See you next time!


	44. Singing in the Rain

Cali had her nose pressed to the window, adamantly gazing outside her house.

Oregon sat at the couch in the living room by the window she was standing at, and smiled at her cute excitement.

The soft pitter-patter of rain was echoing through the house, and the musty smell of dampness was wafting around. The tell tale signs of precipitation was a very good sign for the desert state.

The drought wasn't going to fix itself, and a little rain is exactly what she's been needing as of late,

"Oregon, it's raining! Actual rain! Water from the sky! Precipitation! Other terms for rain! This is wonderful!"

Oregon sipped his hot chocolate and leaned back,

"If you like rain this much, you'll love Portland."

Cali stepped back from the window,

"It's just so cool to see so much water in one place at one time. Well, besides the ocean of course."

She walked over to a closet, and pulled out a rain jacket and an umbrella,

"C'mon! Let's go for a walk! It's not very often I get to see my place like this."

"What about my hot coco?"

Cali smiled and rolled her eyes,

"We can go to Starbucks and get you another one."

Oregon got up from the couch, leaving his drink on the table, and threw on his own jacket, scarf, and hat.

* * *

The two walked down the street together, Oregon holding the umbrella, Cali skipping ahead of him, relishing the tiny droplets of cool clear water.

Oregon had never been a big fan of rain. It's constant presence was a bit tedious for him, but when it rains in California, it's a miracle.

She got a lot of weird looks from the people passing by her as she threw off her hood and belted out,

**"In singin' in the rain, just singin' in the rain! What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again. I'll walk down the lane, with a happy refrain, cause I'm singin' just singin' in the rain."**

Cali sang this sweet little song a few times while springing about, possibly performing the original choreography from the movie "Singing' in the Rain", before slowing down to walk next to Oregon.

She grabbed his hand and he blushed, but his scarf his the majority of it.

Even bundled up in layer after layer of clothing, Cali looked fabulous. Oregon found a goofy smile on his face as she flounced around, enjoying the rare weather.

It wasn't too long before they came to a Starbucks. He held the door open for her, and she stepped inside.

The cafe was almost empty, a few customers sitting with their headphones on and laptops open, a barista fiddling with different machines, so the two walked straight to the counter.

Cali rattled off her long, complicated, well practiced order to the barista, and Oregon followed suit.

Once they had got their drinks, they sat at a booth together, sitting on opposite sides,

"Cali, there's rain like this in mine and Washington's place all the time."

Cali shrugged,

"It's just a new experience, you know? By the time it's raining again, I've forgotten what it's like. I am a desert, after all, and rain is hard to come by these days. I'm sure you and Washy are tired of rain, but it's like seeing the world through a filter. A water filter."

Oregon nodded,

"I'm so used to it, I hardly even notice it anymore."

They talked for a while, first about rain, then about Washington,

"She's really not that bad once you get to know her."

Cali made a face,

"Yeah well, she already doesn't like me. It doesn't help that we spend so much time together."

"I could talk to her if you-

"Don't sweat it, I'm perfectly fine with one more person hating me. I'm used to it."

Her tone was much too nonchalant for the words she was saying. There was an awkward pause while the two drank what was left of their drinks,

"Let's go to the park while it's still drizzling!"

Cali threw out both drinks in the trash, then skipped out the door. Oregon smiled dreamily, and then proceeded to follow her out, but not before getting a few thumbs up from a few of the other customers. Blushing wildly, he followed California to the empty park nearby.

She was sitting on a swing set, kicking her legs half-heartedly back and forth as she did. Her eyes closed gently as the rain soaked her jeans and her jacket. Her hood did little to protect her hair and her boots were coated in a few layers of mud and plants.

Oregon opened his umbrella and sat on the park bench by the jungle gym. Cali opened one eye and frowned when she saw him sitting there. She leaped off the swing, then went over to him. She pulled him to his feet by his hands, causing him to drop the umbrella, then dashed over to a big grassy and muddy field. She slipped in the mud, but Oregon caught her.

They stared into each others eyes for a moment, Cali in his arms, until Oregon blushed and set her up right, apologizing. Cali rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. He was still so flustered by any signs of affection, so unsure of whether he was doing something wrong, paranoid that he would would mess it up, so that usually led to California taking initiative. She wiped some rain from her eyes, then pulled him in for a kiss.

It seemed to last a lifetime, standing in that open field, the rain coming down hard, wrapped in each others warmth. Oregon ran his fingers through her long hair, placing his other hand on the small of her back. The corners of her mouth tilted up and she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him even closer, if that's even possible. The rain pours down, drenching the two of them in cold liquid, but neither could care less. The sparks that flew were defiantly enough to distract her from the cold seeping into her clothes.

Cali pulls back, but only for a moment to catch her breath, and reels him back to her. She could taste the hot chocolate on his lips from their Starbucks earlier, and she had never felt warmer. His lips were strong and heated against hers, her heart pounding in her ribcage so fast she felt certain he could feel it's beating through her jacket as she pressed into him.

They stood there a long while, soaking up the others heat, energy, and, dare I say it, love. The caring, devotion, and emotion sent wordlessly between the two was breathtaking. Any anxiety Oregon had felt leading up to this moment had been washed away by the rain, and replaced by butterflies in his stomach. California threaded her fingers into his and whispered breathlessly into his ear,

"Let's go back home. I can't have you catching a cold, can I?"

Oregon blinked in surprise, remembering the storm going on around them, and squeezed her hand. Cali licked her lips mischievously,

"Besides, it's a lot more fun at home."

Oregon's cheeks blazed their familiar embarrassed pink while Cali winked at him and began to walk back to the house, her hand still laced in his.

* * *

Cali peeled off her drenched jacket and boots the instant she stepped into her home. It was warm, the temperature provided by a uncommonly used heater, so Cali could change into clothes a little thinner than her usual ones.

She walked into the living room after swapping her clothes, and noticed Oregon standing by the sink, topless, wringing out his shirt. Cali stood behind him, ran her hands up and down his sides, kissing his neck affectionately. Oregon tried to put his shirt back on, but Cali took it from him and threw it aside,

"No need for that."

She stopped, stepped back, and surveyed him up and down,

"In fact, your pants seemed to be damp too."

* * *

Oregon woke up swaddled in a thick comforter. Rubbing his eyes, he thought,

_That was the best dream I had ever had, hands down._

After blinking a few times, and looking about the room, it finally hit him.

_This isn't my bed._

Cali turned over, lazily casting a single arm over his side and nuzzling her nose in his back. Oregon slowly turned his head, until he was looking at the little figure that laid in the bed beside him. Her hair was matted, make-up smeared in multiple places, mouth half open, but she had never looked more beautiful. Flashbacks of the steamy night the two had shared bowls him over like a train.

She smacks her lips a few times, and opens her eyes sleepily, obviously woken up by his movement. He sinks back into the sheets, pulling her into her chest, whispering sweet little nothings into her ear, stroking her hair. Quite happily, she returns the gesture, curling into a little ball, intertwining her legs with his.

For an hour or so, the couple did nothing but chat meaninglessly and bask in the love given off by the other. Both were almost completely naked, but this did not register in Oregon's head until he heard footsteps.

Cali hears them too, pulling up the covers to cover her bare chest, Oregon dreading who ever has decided to drop by for a visit. Despite his prayers, it was Arizona who had come to her house,

"Cali, I-"

Arizona opens the door, and pulls up short. Cali and Oregon both have expressions resembling deers in headlights, and Arizona gapes at the sight. If it were anyone else, they would've respected the couples privacy, maybe even been happy for them, but not Arizona. He boiled with rage, his eyes widening, steam pouring out of his ears,

"Oh shit."

There was a pause, then Arizona said calmly, but very seriously,

"You have two seconds before I murder you. One, two."

Arizona took a step into the room, but was pulled back by Nevada forcefully. While Arizona squirmed to get at Oregon and possibly scalp him, Nevada put him in a headlock and dragged him back, closing the door, and shouted,

"Yeah, Cali! Get some!"

Cali's cheeks turned a flattering shade of red as the sound of death-threats faded and the two boys left the house.

Oregon and California took a moment to completely process what had just happened. Cali shrugged and told him,

"It's not the weirdest thing they've ever done."

* * *

The morning was spent lazily laying on the couch, cuddling, watching sitcoms, and stealing kisses as the sheets of water came tumbling down,

"Great, they're issuing a flash flood warning in Orange County. Californians should have a warning label, 'Caution, do not get wet'"

Oregon chuckled at her joke and kissed her forehead,

"I can't imagine a Oregonian surviving the 100 degree weather here, so we're even."

"I guess. Remember that one summer, it reached 128 in Arizona's place. That town where it happened was right on the border of our land too."

Oregon shuddered,

"Geez, I can't even deal with 90."

"Ari's pretty tough when it comes to that sort of thing."

* * *

An hour or so passed, the rain slowly coming to a stop. Cali leaned out a window, looking up at the sky, frowning when only a few droplets landed on her cheeks,

"I know I was complaining about it earlier, but now I'm kinda missing it."

"All good things come to an end."

"Tell me about it."

Cali winked and sat back down on the couch. Oregon slung an arm around her shoulders, Cali snuggling up into his chest, and he turned on "Finding Bigfoot."

She rolled her eyes as Oregon sits up straighter, enticed by the program's name,

"They'll give anyone a show these days."

Oregon held up one finger, shushing her, and he continued to watch. Cali cracks a smile, and lays her head down on his lap. She pulls out her phone, and begins looking at the digital version of "Entertainment Weekly".

"He's real I swear!

"I'll believe it when I see it."

* * *

Oooh fluffy chapter! And yes, they did have sex, but I'm much too squeamish to write it out, so I just left it at that. I feel like Nevada wouldn't care so much about her personal life like Arizona does, and usually has to step in to help her out. Anyway, Guest I did read your comment, an earthquake chapter is coming soon! I say that because I really can't promise anything. Also, I'd like to put more Canadian territories in there, so help me out with their personalities and such. Please review, I work so hard to get you guys a chapter every other day, and I appreciate every single comment you guys send my way. See you next time!


	45. Trembling

April 18, 1906, 5:10 am

A state meeting was about to begin, and California was mentally preparing herself. The rowdy states were meeting in Oregon this time around, and Oregon did not look pleased to be keeping them all in one of his own meeting halls, but tapped the podium loudly to gain their attention anyway,

"I believe that Minnesota has a speech for us."

Minnesota stood up walked over to the front of the room,

"Okay, so I have this great idea of how to better our corn farming."

Half the room groaned, and the other perked up excitedly. Before he could continue however, there was a disturbance in the front of the room. Cali lurched forward, throwing out an arm wildly, catching Colorado and jerking him to the side. With her head down on the table, a deep red line of blood manifests on California's back. It's gushing relentlessly as the room reacts. There are screams, shouts, gasps, every reaction possible, and California begins to twitch uncontrollably,

"What do I do!"

"I don't know!"

Utah, Nevada, and Colorado are all standing by her, scared out of their wits. Suddenly, the ground is trembling underneath them, and everyone is sprinting out of the room. California stands up slowly, grips her head and screams a high-pitched call of pain and terror and her back begins to split open. Colorado wraps his arms around her, ignoring the blood stains on his arms and shirt, and yells at the others,

"Well? Are you gonna do something?! Get her governor on the telephone!"

While Utah dials the number, Cali sinks to her knees, still screaming and now crying. Colorado squeezes her around her middle, partly to comfort her, partly to stanch the flow of blood. Nevada is biting his nails anxiously, distressed by his sister's obvious suffering and that he had no idea the cause of it. Not to mention he is also feeling a rumbling in his chest though this only confuses him further.

Before Colorado can even get a proper bandage on her, torn from his own shirt, she goes limp in his arms. Her back is still bleeding profusely, but she's much calmer now and isn't twitching anymore,

"Cali? You okay?"

She doesn't respond, but Utah calls out to them from the hall,

"Her governor says there's been a huge disaster in San Francisco! A major earthquake!"

Nevada crouches down next to Cali and Colorado where they were sitting on the floor,

"That would explain a lot."

Cali takes a shallow breath,

"How bad?"

Utah doesn't answer, but hangs up the phone and walks back to her,

"We should get you home before-"

Cali's right shoulder is yanked to the side by an unknown force, causing Colorado to wrap her up in the strip of cloth securely, and pick her up off the floor.

* * *

The train ride back to California's capital was a long one. A rickety train was not the ideal transportation for a wounded girl, but it was the only thing available. She sat with her arms crossed securely, squeezing her eyes shut as she would shudder from aftershock.

She walked carefully into the governor's office, being supported by Colorado and Utah, with Nevada trailing in after them. George Pardee, her governor, was sitting at his desk,

"How is she?"

"I'm fine. Just a scratch."

Colorado rolled his eyes and showed Pardee the huge scar. Pardee dialed the phone sitting on his desk, and asked for an ambulance to take her to the hospital.

The paramedics arrived and took Cali onto a gurney. Utah and Nevada tried to ride with her there, but the medics wouldn't allow more than two people accompanying her, so they drove there themselves.

The instant they reached the hospital, California begins to howl in pain once again. The doctors swarm around her, trying to figure out what was going on, while Pardee informed the boys of what had happened,

"The 40–second, 7.9 tremor reeked havoc. Causing a good $20 million worth of property. The shaking paused for 10 seconds, renewing with another stronger tremor for 25 more seconds. Then it was over. Pandemonium ensued: streets filled with stunned residents, cries rang out from injured and trapped victims, and many believed the end of the world had come."

Utah clutched Colorado's arm, terrified by not only the story, but by Cali's cries for help and her choked calls. Nevada tapped his foot impatiently,

"What can we do?"

Pardee sighed and massaged his temples,

"Unless you want to go to San Francisco yourself, your best option would be to comfort California as she gets through this. You might want to call your own governors and tell them what's going on."

Each of them took turns at the phone in the lobby of the hospital, explaining the disaster that has struck and why they won't be there for a few days.

* * *

The second California was asleep, they let her brothers in to see how she was doing. She slept in the bed, knocked out by drugs from an IV after she kept trying to get up and run to San Francisco herself,

"She's a fighter, I'll give her that."

The doctor tapped his clip-board with his pencil,

"How did she get into this mess anyway?"

Nevada was the one who answered him,

"It was an accident with a saw."

The doctor nodded and said to them,

"Don't worry, she'll be fine. She's already healing, and if that wasn't impressive enough, she had lost enough blood to kill her yet somehow made it through it."

Utah bit back tears at the sight of his sister lying motionless in the sterile white hospital bed. Colorado rubbed his back comfortingly and Nevada took his hand. The doctor excused himself, allowing the boys to have some time alone with her. When the door closed, Nevada stepped up next to Cali and took her hand. Leaning over, he whispered comfortingly in her ear,

"I love you Cali. Get better soon, okay?"

Colorado said to Utah,

"This whole situation feels a bit familiar."

Utah nodded,

"Yeah, remember when we were little and we asked her about the scar on her back?"

"She told us, I think, that it was a fault line. The name 'Fort Tejon' and 'Owens Valley' comes to mind."

"Another 7.9. Can you imagine going through that not once, not twice, but three times?"

Cali shifted in her sleep, smiled for a brief moment, and then fell still once again.

* * *

January 17, 1994, 4:31 am

California and her siblings were all asleep, staying at her LA home at the time. As though the ground was giving a wake-up call, they were rudely awakened by the strong shaking of the Northridge earthquake.

As Arizona snapped out of his grogginess and realized what was going on, he took off down the hall to California's room where a chorus of screams was emanating. She was sitting on her knees, palms pressed into the ground, trying to ground herself from having any spasms.

He had seen her in this desperate state more times than he would've liked. Clutching her back desperately, trying to stop the ripping sensation from making it's familiar appearance. He soothingly pulled her toward her, noticing that her San Andreas scar was not acting up, but one a bit closer to her right shoulder blade.

When the shaking had stopped, the rest of the family soon arrived, Hawaii in tears, New Mexico wide eye, the rest all cringing. Hawaii had only been through a few of these with Cali, so she was still not used to seeing her strong sister taken down so far.

The call from Pete Wilson, her governor, soon came, and Colorado answered,

"Yes sir, she's fine. She's been through worse. We'll have her patched up quickly."

Colorado was silent for a while as Wilson told him the damages and the story behind it.

Cali's breathing was shallow as pain shot up her shoulder and arm. Arizona kissed her forehead carefully, instructing Nevada to get him the first-aid kit. He had a lot of experience sewing up whatever had split in her back, it was not so much of an honor as a responsibility,

"Thank god I had this place bolted down years ago."

Cali's breathing was getting more even as the wound was stitched shut by Arizona's careful fingers. Colorado said to the group in a monotone voice,

"The earthquake occurred on a blind thrust fault. Damage was wide-spread, sections of major freeways collapsed, parking structures and office buildings collapsed, and numerous apartment buildings suffered irreparable damage. Damage to wood-frame apartment houses was very widespread in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica areas, especially to structures with "soft" first floor or lower-level parking garages. The high accelerations, both vertical and horizontal, lifted structures off of their foundations and/or shifted walls laterally."

Cali shook her head,

"Shame. I like Santa Monica."

Her attitude to these quakes has been getting better over the years ever since she had gotten the technology to stop too much damage. Bolts, screws, adhesives, and medical staples. Her arsenal for earthquake defense.

Arizona picked her up and set her back down on the bed,

"Get some rest. We'll fix the damage tomorrow."

Laying her head down, Cali muttered a quick,

"Goodnight."

Before closing her eyes and instantly nodding off.

New Mexico whistled in amazement,

"You could hit her with a car and she'd brush it off like it was nothing."

Utah placed a hand on his shoulder,

"Believe me, it was much worse before."

Colorado and Nevada nodded,

"Much worse."

Hawaii frowned at the small trail of blood on the floor,

"Why do we have to go through all these natural disasters? Can't I grow in a way that doesn't scorch my carpet?"

Nevada smiled and patted her shoulder,

"At least you'll catch up with us one day. I'm stuck with being shorter than Arizona and New Mexico my whole life."

Utah picked her up off the floor and carried her back to her room,

"I think that's enough excitement for one day."

He stopped for a moment,

"Only 5 am and it's already too much."

* * *

I did it! Guest, thanks for the idea! I gotta tell you, every chapter requires a lot of research it's crazy. As always, let me know if anything is inaccurate. Earthquakes are a little bit difficult because they only last 10-30 seconds and it's a lot going on at once. I'm pretty sure chapters aren't going to get much longer than this on a regular basis, but every now and then I'll get a good plot bunny to work off of. Two stories is a lot of responsibility (By the way, I have no clue when I'm gonna update the AU next. Fingers crossed!) Please review, they mean so much to me, and see you next time!


	46. A Capital

Tick

Tock

Tick

Tock

The clock that hung in California's living room swung back and forth, filling the cavernous halls with the echoing mechanical heart beat.

California herself adjusted her skirt uncomfortably. She wasn't used to have an unannounced guest over, and she was completely lost for words over what to do.

The young man that sat on her couch was very reminiscent of a man she had met before. Big bushy eyebrows, green eyes, you get the picture. He calls himself London. He had pounded on her door relentlessly until she let him in. It was less out of the kindness of her heart, more an obligation,

"So, you are a capital? Like DC?"

London nodded ,

"Yes, capital of England. Thank you for letting me in by the way."

"Don't sweat it."

London muttered under his breath in an obviously English accent,

"You Americans and your weird sayings."

It was all Cali could do to not slap him,

"May I remind you who you're talking to?"

Cali cracked her knuckles menacingly and London held up his hands in defeat,

"Sorry love, I didn't mean anything by it. All that I ask of you is that you contact our countries. It's taken us a very long time to track down even you."

"Well it is 'The Most Precious Government Secret' in the world. We don't just go around telling people. How did you find me?"

London smiled,

"I made an Instagram account."

Cali groaned,

"America is so gonna make me delete that now. It took forever to convince them."

London looked around the house,

"You have a beautiful home."

"Thank you. Look, just give me a sec to call America."

Leaving London in the living room, Cali walked into the kitchen and dialed America,

"Goldie, how's it hanging?"

"Well, I think I've found someone you'll be interested in."

"Cali, for the last time, I'm not going to date anyone."

"Not that kind of interest! He's claiming to be London. You know, England's capital?"

There was a brief pause, and then America's uncertain laugh,

"Good one Cali! I thought April Fools is next month."

"I'm serious, send somebody out here and fast."

"Well alright, I can get there with England by tomorrow if you're being honest."

"Of course I'm being honest! When have I ever lied to you? Don't answer that."

"I'll be there in a little while. YO! IGGY, GUESS WHAT!"

He hung up the phone and California went back to the living room where London was patiently waiting.

"He said he'll fly out here with your...well, your country? But it might take a day or two."

London was going to respond, but Sacramento bounded down the stairs and leaped on California. Taken by surprise, California is bowled over by the 800 pound animal, pinned down by his huge paws.

London is on his feet, frozen in place by the sight of the bear, and is about to call the police when Sacramento begins to lick her face, and California is laughing like crazy,

"Sacramento! Get off of me! Yes, yes, I love you too buddy."

He stops licking her and gives her a pensive look. Cali slides out from under him, lifting up the massive weight with little to no difficulty,

"Sorry about him, he gets a little excited sometimes."

Slowly realizing that the grizzly is her pet, London responds,

"It's fine. I'm just not used to seeing huge black bears up close."

"Actually he's a California Grizzly."

Cali tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and patted Sacramento's fuzzy head,

"Last one of his kind. I've had him for a while."

London felt a touch of pity for the extinct species, but asked her instead,

"How long is a while, exactly?"

Cali pursed her lips in thought,

"Let's see, 1521 was when they got Aztec, so about 541 years? Give or take a few."

His eyes widened considerably at this,

"Wow."

"Hey, I'm not that old!"

London scoffed at her defensiveness,

"I wasn't calling you old, I'm around 2,000 myself."

They went back and forth for a while, discussing their history, music, and the differences between England and America,

"When I came here, it seems as though everyone was wearing very minimal clothing."

"That's Californians for you, we take advantage of the constant sun."

"I can tell you tan a lot. You look absolutely lovely."

Cali smiled at him politely, but was panicking on the inside,

"Thank you."

"Extremely gorgeous in fact-"

"CALI! GUESS WHAT I FOUND IN THE DESERT!"

New Mexico came barreling in, carrying a lizard over his head.

Cali stood up, thankful New Mexico had interrupted that conversation,

"Woah, is that the Long-nosed Leopard Lizard you told me about?"

"Yeah! I was in the desert when I saw this guy, who's that and why is he glaring at me?"

California turned back to London and said to her brother,

"London, New Mexico. New Mexico, London."

London accepted New Mexico's hand shake a little reluctantly,

"You mean you're England's capital? Sweet, it's about time we got some more foreign friends."

California took the lizard from New Mexico and stroked his back,

"He's beautiful."

New Mexico smiled and puffed his chest out,

"I thought you might like him. Speaking of which,"

He grabbed it out her hands and said,

"I promised I would show Colorado if I ever found one, see you later Cali!"

She closed the door behind him, and said to London sheepishly,

"That's my brother. They're all kinda insane."

London threw his hands in exasperation,

"Great, just great."

* * *

The day wore on, and soon the sun was setting,

"Do you have a place to stay? You can crash here if you need to."

London accepted her kind offer and followed her lead upstairs.

She set him up in the guest room, and then retired to her own room.

* * *

The night passed uneventfully, and in the morning, California got up early to fix breakfast for herself and her guest.

To her surprise, he was already downstairs, sipping tea from a mug a little unhappily,

"I couldn't find any tea cups, and the only tea I could find was Peach flavor, but it will do."

California shrugged and took out a mug of her own,

"Sorry about that, I don't drink tea very much. I usually have coffee."

London took another drink,

"Yeah, I know."

Cali decided to ignore that little comment and went about cooking waffles for herself and London.

When she was just pouring the batter in the maker, the doorbell rang. Cali went to open the door for America and England and shooed them in,

"My waffles are gonna burn if I wait too long, c'mon."

England stormed in, a little peeved that someone believed themselves to be London. America had to jog in after him but came up short when he came face to face with London himself.

The resemblance between England and London was uncanny. Eyebrows thick as redwood trees an unmistakable landmark,

"Hello? Are you gonna say something or just gonna stare?"

England snapped out of his reverie and frowned at the man who stood before him. America laughed his annoying laugh upon seeing the common frown,

"Dude, he looks just like you!"

Cali nodded from the sidelines, plopping a golden brown waffle onto a plate,

"Told you I wasn't kidding."

America immediately forgot about London and went to the steaming waffle she had just cooked. Before California could realize what was going on, he had devoured the whole confection,

"Typical."

She poured more batter into the maker, then mixed up a few more batches of batter, muttering under her breath,

"How silly of me, if America's coming over make a quadruple batch. All that sugar is just gonna go straight to his thighs."

England clapped a hand over London's shoulder and said triumphantly,

"Well, what are we waiting for! We can depart in an hour for England and leave this hippy land behind us."

The whisk that struck England in the back of the head was completely called for, if you ask Cali.

London broke into laughter, complimenting Cali's aim and pulled England out by the arm before he could retaliate,

"Wait! Don't leave me alone with the black hole!"

The door clicked into place, destroying Cali's hopes for a normal breakfast,

"Hey Cali, do you have any bigger forks? These are a little small."

* * *

(I'm pretty tired, so I'm gonna keep this short. I might add more of a note later, so check for that) This chapter will most likely get a part two seeing as I ended it so soon. Thanks for reading and please review!


	47. 89

October 17 1989

Cali sits in the stands at Candlestick Park and screams as loudly as she can as the World Series begins. It was difficult for her to decide who to root for, the San Francisco Giants or the Oakland Athletics, because they were both her teams, so she had a Giants hat, and an Oakland Athletics foam finger. The fans around her gave her weird looks, but said nothing when they saw how aggressive she got when either team scored.

Her seats were excellent, right behind the pitcher. Japan sat next to her, smiling gently, but totally confused about what's going on in the game. She also had to get a seat for America to sit right next to her, less for her safety (I think we've established she can protect herself) and more because he won a bet with her. Home run for the Giants, and Cali and America are on their feet yelling and screaming.

Suddenly, California's stomach drops and she grips America's hand even tighter as fans were thrown from their seats as the Loma Prieta earthquake brings the Bay Area to its knees, literally.

There's pandemonium in the stadium. The game stops, players rush to their families, cradling their children on the field. Those 15 seconds were pure agony for California as she clings to America with what little strength she has.

The searing pain of her back being ripped in half ripples through her. Japan and America are stunned by the sudden quake, and can do little more than try to stay in their seats. Cali snarls angrily and thinks to herself,

_Damn, why now? Why here? _

Everyone rushes out onto the field, swarming the players, and a police officer with a megaphone tells everyone that the game is going to be postponed. The crowd files out of the stadium. America is on the phone with President Bush, telling him what happened, and Japan is holding California as she trembles with aftershock.

The death toll is escalating, the Bay Bridge collapses, buildings slide off their foundations, double-decker Interstate 880 is in tatters, more and more people getting injured, and Cali can't take it anymore. She goes out cold in Japan's arms.

* * *

The next few hours go by in a blur for California. She's escorted to a hospital by America and Japan quickly and as she as pushed through the halls, she grabs America's arm,

"Help them, my citizens. They're trapped under the 880 Interstate."

The nurse pats her forehead with a damp cloth,

"Poor thing, she's talking nonsense."

America dashes out of the hospital and sprints all the way to Oakland to be the hero he sought to be. Japan, however, stays be her side, talking quickly in Japanese to her comfortingly. He's actually trying to calm himself down, but Cali does stop screaming.

If the power was on, they would be watching the news broadcast, but since it's out they have to suffer in silence. Cali's back is stitched closed by one of the doctors.

Arizona and Nevada burst in simultaneously, running up to the receptionist and saying together,

"We're looking for Angel Jones."

The receptionist had only a few seconds to say,

"Room 31"

Before the two push past the doctors and dash to the room. Japan stands up from the chair he was sitting in while waiting for her, and goes after them.

The anesthesia is just starting to wear off when they crash into the room. Cali grips the sides of the bed as the Marina District bursts into flames from gas leaks in San Francisco,

"Hey, excuse me, you're not aloud to be in here!"

A nurse tried to push back Arizona and Nevada, but fails after realizing how strong the two were,

"Just don't touch her. She's in a lot of pain and we don't want to make it worse."

He left to go find a doctor, leaving her two brothers in the room with Cali,

"Hey. I'm guessing you saw the news. I was wondering if any of them had gotten back on the air."

Arizona was about to reach out and hold her hand, but Nevada held him back, reminding him what the nurse had said,

"Actually, me and Ari were watching the World Series and it went to static. Then, the announcer told us that an earthquake had just struck and we came out as fast as we could."

Japan walks in at this time, keeping quiet but had a concerned look on his face as Cali gritted her teeth. The doctor walks back in, the nurse in tow,

"Well Ms. Jones, judging by your chart this isn't the first time this has happened. Should I put in medical staples to keep it tighter so it doesn't come undone again?"

Cali shakes her head slightly, and grimaces at the pain,

"It's best just to let it close on it's own."

The doctor injects another syringe of pain killer into her arm, and is about to leave to go check-up on other patients, when a shriek of pain comes from California. When she managed to flip California over, there are streaks of burn marks running along the freshly stitched wound,

"How did we miss that!"

She puts some salve from a tube on her back, then asks a nearby nurse to grab her some ice. The nurse comes in soon and applies the ice to the burn. Cali relaxed noticeably after that,

"Is there anything else I could get you?"

Cali waves her away,

"Go see the others that are hurt. They need help more than me, trust me."

Eyeing her uncertainly, the nurse took his clip-board and left the room. Arizona and Japan share a concerned glance, but both avoid saying anything. Nevada cringes when Cali begins to writhe on the bed,

"Cali, you worry too much about others."

Cali smirked,

"When you live on God's Etch-A-Sketch, you have to look out for each other."

Nevada smiles, lightened by her dark humor, and sits on one of the seats in the room. Japan and Arizona both sit as well, and Nevada begins talking again,

"It is incredible how you can shake off a huge disaster like it was nothing. Like in San Fernando, and San Francisco, and Kern County, and Mendocino, and-"

"We get the point Nevada, I don't think you're helping."

"Sorry Ari. I'm just amazed how she can deal with all this pain."

"How you deal with a constant intake of alcohol is amazing to me so we're even."

Cali bites her bottom lip to keep another scream from escaping,

"Do you remember the movie Alien? The face-huggers and how the baby would burst out of the guys chest?"

Arizona and Nevada nodded solemnly, recalling the creepy sci-fi movie well,

"Well it's like that."

Nevada made a disgusted face at the thought, and Arizona quirked up his lips just enough to qualify as a smile.

* * *

October 22 1989

The meeting room fell silent when Arizona wheeled California in. She had been released from the hospital a while ago, but the wound still ached from time to time and America wasn't taking any chances. They had to reorganize the whole schedule just so California could host the meeting in her land so she wouldn't have to travel.

He pushes her up to her spot at the table, taking a little longer to make sure she was fine,

"Ari, just sit. You're literally one seat over."

He reluctantly sits, peering around Arkansas every now and then to be sure she was fine.

A few of the other states who were prone to earthquakes all nodded in understanding. DC said in a low tone,

"California, do you have anything to say before we begin?"

"Just keep it down, I have a wicked headache."

DC put a hand to his forehead,

"I meant, anything about the earthquake."

"Oh right, that. Almost forgot."

The states laughed a bit at that,

"I've been through many, and I'm sure this isn't the last one. Just be glad it's not the Big One."

Rhode Island looked at her with wrapped attention,

"The Big One?"

"Yeah, all the scientists are saying that there's going to be this HUGE earthquake, a 8.5 or higher, that'll shake everything off it's foundation. Buildings collapse, fires, some even think I could split in half and sink into the ocean!"

She has everyone listening now,

"Friction builds up along faults because the two sides are pushed very tightly together. If the force of friction exceeds the forces moving the earth, the two sides will become "locked," so they stop creeping. When this happens, tension builds up along the fault line until the force of movement is great enough to overcome the force of friction. Then the pieces of earth suddenly "snap" into place, releasing a large amount of energy that causes earthquakes in the earth's crust. Many scientists estimate that there is enough tension built up along some locked California faults, that when they do finally slip, the earthquake will be extremely powerful."

Mass looks around nervously,

"So when's it gonna happen?"

Cali shrugs,

"It could happen in 10,000 years, in 10 years, in a month, or..."

She paused and looked around,

"Right. Now."

Everyone is freaked out now, looking around, gripping the sides of their chair, planning to dive under the table, just extremely paranoid.

DC, sensing a panic arising, said into the microphone,

"Relax everyone, there will be no apocalypse anytime soon."

Cali shouts back,

"Excuse me, but who has the San Andreas fault line here? I think I know a little more than you."

The buzzing of activity is back with more vigor than before, everyone freaking out about California's prophecy. DC, who is very fed up by the whole situation, screams into the microphone,

"CALIFORNIA, THERE IS NOT GOING TO BE A HUGE EARTHQUAKE! YOU WILL ALL SIT DOWN AND BE QUIET OR SO HELP ME I WILL CUT ALL OF YOUR FUNDING!"

The room goes still, then there is a mad scramble to sit down. DC is fuming, snarling, he's even more terrifying than an earthquake. He is about launch into a lecture for California, but he sees Arizona standing by her as she hunches her shoulders and tenses her body. Aftershock ripples through the room and Cali suppresses a shout of pain.

DC's anger melts when he sees her experiencing so much pain. He had forgotten about the tragedy that had happened less than a week ago and how much pain she must be in,

"Cali, do you need anything?"

"Some Advil please."

At the moment, America bursts in and high-tails it to where Cali was sitting,

"Goldie, how you doing? I was in the area and I figured I'd drop by. Bush wanted me to tell you he's giving you a $3.45 billion earthquake relief package, by the way."

Cali smiles brightly at this,

"Good to here. I just need to know, did anybody get out from under the interstate?"

America poses heroically,

"The hero got them out! Don't worry Goldie!"

Cali usually would've laughed at his childish habits, but she just frowns,

"How many were killed?"

His smile disappears,

"Are you sure you-"

"Just tell me!"

Everyone is a tad scared of her outburst after such a traumatic experience, and America says hurriedly,

"42."

Cali feels tears sting her eyes and her wound flairs up again.

America grinned halfheartedly,

"Well, they've rescheduled the World Series for the 28th if you want to go."

"Ahem."

DC raises an eyebrow at America,

"We're kinda in the middle of a meeting here."

"Oh right! Later dudes!"

* * *

Due to popular demand, I decided to do '89 as well. I know, a little out of order, but I will have a London chapter hopefully up soon. And no, California will not be cracking in half and falling in the ocean anytime soon (I looked it up, it's impossible). Thanks to all you wonderful people who have supported me so far, and hello to all those joining us now! Please review and see you next time!


	48. When In Rome

"California, I have some exciting news for you!"

California sits up from her towel on the sand to hold the phone to her ear,

"What's up Jerry? I'm a little busy."

"Well, I've gotten word from the president that since America is unable to travel, you, Texas, and New York will be taking his place at the world meeting."

"Cali sat up a little straighter,

"Do I have to? It's just starting to get sunny again! I wanna work on my tan!"

"Oh come on, this is a great honor."

Cali shudders at the memory of how they all fought during their meeting,

"Okay fine. So it's just the regular trio?"

"Yes, the president couldn't afford 50+ plane tickets added to repairs to whatever the states got their hands on."

"Gotcha."

Cali stands and brushes some of the sand off herself,

"I think I could do with a vacation anyway."

* * *

"Get your arm off my arm rest!"

"You have your own arm rest!"

"Shut up guys, I'm trying to sleep."

Cali adjusted herself once again in her seat, trying to get comfortable. Even in first class, she was very squished in her chair. Texas was on her right, and New York sat on her left. York had thrown a fit when Texas got the window seat, but when California told him to sit, he obediently obeyed,

"I just want this to be over."

California grimaced as the plane dipped a little bit.

"It'll be fun to meet more countries."

"Trust me, you don't want to meet them."

"Well it's a trip to Italy, and that's something at least."

Texas shrugged and nodded to the two of them,

"Which reminds me, you two will have to translate everything for me."

Cali shut her eyes tightly,

_Calm down Cali. You're just in a giant metal deathtrap, thousands of feet above the ground, that could fail at anytime, plummeting out of the sky. Damn, I'm really scared now. I have to stop doing that! _

"Cali?"

New York frowned when he saw her sitting very tensely,

"You okay?"

"I just really hate planes."

Texas chuckled, but stopped when he got a burning glare from Cali,

"I didn't know you were scared of heights."

Cali sighed,

"It's not heights. I could climb up this high and be fine, but it's just the whole flying thing that freaks me out."

"Well don't worry, just fall asleep. We'll be there in no time."

Cali took a few deep breaths, refusing to look out the window, and relaxed. It was a half and hour before she actually fell asleep. Her head tilted over, resting on Texas's shoulder. Texas smiled smugly at New York who rolled his eyes.

* * *

The next few hours passed by uneventfully. Cali slept the entire rest of the way there and, much to Texas's enjoyment, she snuggled into his side, her hands around his muscular arm.

Once the plane had landed, Texas shook California awake. She stretched out her legs and arms, and reached above the seats to grab her luggage. A very handsome flight attendant saw her with her massive bag, and offered to help. New York was about to interject and offer to carry it himself, but Cali just hoisted the very large, heavy bag over the shoulder, thanked him for his attempt to help her, then skipped off after Texas.

With a small grin on his face, New York went through the terminal, trailing after the two. A car picked them up, and dropped them off at the hotel.

They exchanged nervous glances, then walked inside. They were greeted by a sweet receptionist, who spoke to Texas in Italian,

"Come posso aiutarvi?"

Texas stuttered for a moment, but California answered for him,

"Siamo qui per ricevere la nostra camera."

The lady nodded, asked them,

"Nomi, per favore?"

"Jones."

She typed into her computer for a moment, then took a look at York,

"Americans, I presume?"

Texas nodded and said,

"I'm just glad these two know Italian."

The woman took a moment to translate what he said in her head then said to New York,

"Lei parla italiano?"

"Fluentemente."

He said it with a small wink and the receptionist blushed ever so slightly. California rolled her eyes, took the the three key cards for the room, then walked to the elevator.

Pressing the button, California took a moment to look around the hotel. It was a grand one, 5 stars, with a large lobby and gold decorated walls. Texas and York followed her soon after, waiting next to her, then going into the elevator.

* * *

The ride up to the 15 th floor was quiet until they stopped on the 4th floor and someone else got on. A rather attractive Italian man got on, looking at California up and down. He said to her,

"Da dove vieni, mia cara?"

Cali put on a false smile and said back to him,

"California, Stati Uniti d'America."

"È meraviglioso incontrare qualcuno degli stati."

York looked at him and said,

"Io vengo da stati le anche"

York folded his arms, glaring at the man who smiled nervously at him, rushing to get off the elevator when he reached his floor. California shouted after him,

"Per vostra informazione, io non sono i vostri cari, sobbalzo!"

The doors closed and she said to York,

"Grazie."

Texas raised one eyebrow,

"Okay, what just happened?"

"So he said to me, 'Where do you come from, my dear?" so I told him 'California, United States.' then he said 'It is wonderful meet someone of the states' so Yorkie told him 'I come from states also'"

Texas patted York on the back,

"Good job York. Wait, what did you shout at him?"

Cali smiled deviously,

"'For your information, I am not your dear, jerk!'"

Texas cracks up, then the ding of the elevator brings them back to the present. Standing in the hallway, is Canada, not that California or Texas noticed. California goes to room 1506, Texas going to 1507, but York stopped to talk to Canada,

"Hey Uncle Matt. How's everything with the providences?"

Canada smiled,

"Everything as usual. Just good to be noticed."

California poked her head out of her room at looked, confused, at York,

"Who are you talking to, Yorkie?"

Canada sighed and turned around to look at her,

"Hello California. It's good to see you."

Cali stared at him for a moment, then she finally recognized him,

"Oh! Mattie!"

She leaped out of her room, crushing Canada in a tight hug,

"It's been a while!"

Canada laughed and patted her head awkwardly. York put a hand on her shoulder,

"You might want to let go now, he's needs to breathe."

She let go and Canada took a deep breath,

"While you're here, you need to tell Nova Scotia to stop calling me when he's drunk. I have a lot of messages on my receiver I'm scared to listen to."

Canada laughed nervously,

"I've told him before to stop that."

Cali shook her head,

"I have heard things from him that would make France proud."

York turned to her wide eyed,

"Hold on, what is Nova doing?"

Canada told him something in French that Cali couldn't understand,

"Hey, no fair!"

York turned bright red when he heard what Canada was saying,

"Cali, I don't think you want to know."

Cali laughed and turned back to her room,

"I'm going to bed. It's kinda early but this jet lag is killing me."

* * *

"It's so early though!"

"Cali, it's 10 am."

"Well yeah but back home it's like 2 am."

Texas stopped knocking on the door and began to walk away,

"Fine. I'll see you there."

Cali rolled out of her comfortable, warm bed to the unforgiving, cold ground. Groaning, she pulled herself onto her feet.

It was a good thirty minutes before she looked presentable. Her boss had tried to make her wear a pencil skirt, but she out right refused. She much preferred her tank top and jeans.

Breakfast was just ending when she got back down to the lobby. Luckily, she managed to grab a prima colazione and then dash out to where Texas and New York were waiting.

* * *

Instantly, the sound of war cries and arguing blew them away. If they thought 50 teenagers in a room together was bad, they had obviously never seen these psychos. Cali was the first to walk into the grand meeting room, followed shortly by York and then Texas,

"So, um, where do we sit?"

Cali shrugged,

"Maybe we should ask someone."

She walked up to Germany, who was facing away from her, and said politely

"Hi, I was just wondering-"

Instinctively, Germany whips around, throwing a punch that knocks California backwards, twirling her around and she lands on her knees.

She grips the place where he had struck her as Texas and York rush up to her. Germany is terrified by the murderous glares he gets from the two boys,

"Damn..."

She slowly get up onto her feet, massaging her jaw,

"I'm so sorry, I did not know that-"

"Don't worry about it. It's not the first time."

Texas tried to pull her away from Germany, fearing for her further safety, but she says calmly,

"If this was an actual fight, I would kick your ass."

She pulls her pick-ax out, swinging it lazily, and walks off to find a chair. York looks at Germany,

"You know she could and would."

Texas tries to drag York away, but Romano and Italy at the front of the room call everyone to attention,

"Welcome everyone! It's so good to have you all here!"

Romano rolls his eyes and mutters something under his breath that nobody besides Italy hears,

"Fratello, that's not nice!"

Cali doesn't catch the rest of their introductory speech because she has already put her headphones in.

Suddenly, a man across the table catches her eye and winks flirtatiously. California is startled by this but smiles back anyway.

_This cannot be good._

When the man who winked at her spoke, she recognized his accent and realized it was France.

_That explains a lot._

Texas, who was sitting to the right of York and to the left of Cali, adds to the conversation going on,

"Well, I know someone who's more big headed than those two combined."

York turns to him, eyebrows furrowed,

"Who?"

"You."

"Why you little-"

"Actually, you're the little one here. 30th largest actually."

"Well you're the second largest, aren't ya? Right behind Alaska. Oh wait, you're not right behind her at all. More like 300,000 square miles behind."

They now have the attention of a good majority of the countries sitting near them, and Cali is worried,

"Guys, calm down you're making a scene."

"Right after this punk realizes who his superior is."

"Yeah right! You're about as superior as California is smart."

"Wanna run that by me again Yorkie?"

Cali stands up, towering over York, who isn't the least bit intimidated,

"Maybe you should get to work on that dismal education system of yours."

York stands up himself and crosses his arms. Cali sneers at him,

"I'm sorry, I can't take you seriously with that accent of yours."

York narrowed his eyes at her,

"At least I'm not a valley girl like you!"

"How many times do I have to tell you?! I'm not from the valley, so I don't talk like one!"

The room is now completely silent besides the two bickering states,

"Why don't you go whining to America about how your head hurts?"

"I can't control the stock market and you know it!"

"Yeah and I can't control earthquakes, but you don't see me wailing about it."

Texas stood too,

"That's enough you two."

"Don't tell me what to do, dirt breath."

"Hey, industry head, just cállate already."

Cali laughed at that,

"Su cerebro está llena de rascacielos."

York screeched at her,

"Hou je mond!"

"You know I can't understand Dutch, idiot."

Texas looked at him blankly, trying to figure out what he said, when York said menacingly,

"You're the one sleeping with a nobody."

Cali gasped and her face contorted with rage,

" 何?"

Texas stood there, still lost, trying to decipher her Japanese, but York kept speaking,

"I've heard all about how you're screwing Oregon. No point in denying it!"

Cali's look of rage turns to a look of puzzlement,

"¿Cómo sabe que?"

York was steaming with rage,

"Penn told me. Apparently, Arizona put out his death warrant and word got around."

Cali sighed and put a hand to her forehead,

"I'm going to have a word with him."

Texas looked at York for a minute, then burst out laughing,

"Dude you are so jealous! And of Oregon of all people!"

York turned bright red and glared at Texas,

"I am not jealous of that, that, fly-over!"

Cali put her hands on her hips,

"He is not a fly-over!"

Texas shrugged,

"He's not to hippies and stoners."

"Hey!"

"Well it's true!"

Romano, who was quite fed up with their squabble, said into the microphone,

"If you're done, I believe we have a meeting to get to."

A bell went off, signalling the end of the meeting, and everyone high-tailed it out of there, leaving Romano alone in the room, clutching his forgotten speech,

"Dio, I hate those states."

* * *

Yeah! Long-ish chapter! It's a lot of work, let me tell you. I have no clue when the AU will be updated, so just hold your horses for that one. There was a lot of other languages in this one, so please correct me if I got anything wrong! I used a much more reliable translator than Google called 'Babylon' so hopefully it's okay. Thanks for your support, and if requested I can update with all the translations for everything. Please review and see you next time!


	49. Gold Rushing

The scent of the coursing river was invigorating to California. She could almost taste the riches. The specks and flecks of gold that were thick in the water.

She stepped back from her panning a moment to look around. There were gold hunters up and down the stretch of water, all with a pan of dirt in their hands. She smiled at the sight of all the people.

_Take that! People are flocking to me!_

She dusted off her pants, something she got a lot of weird looks for, and marched back to her tent. It was a simple sheet of canvas, not to big seeing as she didn't want to draw attention to her growing wealth. Cali flipped her braids back over her shoulder and grabbed the flaps.

She peered around her shoulder. She had felt as though someone was staring at her, but when she turned around, no one was there.

_I must be going crazy. _

She immediately turned back to her tent and closed the flaps behind her. The glimmer of gold in her hand caused her eyes to light up and a grin to cross her face.

A little while back, California had been consumed by greed. Everything was money to her. She spent all day mining, and all night counting her riches over and over again. She ignored her responsibilities as a state in favor of collecting more of the yellow dust.

She had a mine that she owned with a few other men a few miles away. It was teeming with gold, many veins have been found and there are more waiting to be discovered. Cali straps her pick-ax to her back, puts a few sticks of dynamite on her belt, pats Sacramento on the head, and heads out on her horse, San Fran, to the dusty hole in the ground that would make her rich beyond her wildest dreams.

San Fran's deep red colored mane shone in the afternoon sun as her hoofs beat the ground. Cali pulled on the reigns, bringing her steed to a stop, then swung her legs around and hopped off. Tying San Fran to a post, California walked down the long tunnel, then descended into the mine shaft.

* * *

It was a very deep hole, 50 ft deep to be exact, but Cali tied thick ropes around her waist carefully and lowered herself down into the mine. She stopped at one of the tunnels leading to a rich vein, and stepped onto the ledge. She first untied herself, then took a few more steps in to be sure she wouldn't fall in.

She unhooked her pick, then walked to the end of the tunnel. She set up her explosives, pushing them into the thick wall, then igniting them and running away behind a barrier as fast as she could.

A somewhat mischievous smile crossed her face as the stone wall was blasted to rubble. She checked to make sure all the explosives had gone off, then cleared away some of the rocks with her foot.

There was wall of gold specked quartz in front of her. She swung her pick down, using her strength to chip off a good section of the wall, and then dumped it into a bucket to be cleaned and separated later.

She spent a long time in that hole, scraping and hacking away at the stone, and she was rewarded nicely. Cali re-hooked her pick on her back and picked up her bucket of gold.

As she was just about to secure herself back into the pulley, she heard the sound of gunpowder. The unmistakable sound of an explosion in the making. She barely got the time to turn around, much less diffuse it, when she was blown backward, and she plunged down into the depths of the mine shaft, still clutching the bucket as if her life depended on it.

* * *

"Peter?"

Peter Burnett stood up hurriedly at the sight of America entering his office. He held out his hand for America to shake, but America rushed right into saying,

"Have you seen California around recently?"

"No I haven't. The last I heard of her, she was panning for gold by the American River. Why?"

America took off his hat and dusted it off, his usual smile replaced by a frown

"I was just looking for her to congratulate her on officially becoming a state but she wasn't at her tent."

Now both Peter and America were worried,

"America, I-"

"Please, call me Alfred."

"Okay, Alfred, I'm sure she's fine. It's not the first time she's run off to the forests to clear her mind for a bit, she'll be back soon."

"I've just been so busy with the territories recently I haven't the time to check up on her as much as I should."

America walked back to the door, but left his hand on the doorknob,

"Anything you hear about her whereabouts goes straight to me, ya hear?"

Peter assured him that all information he got regarding the girl would be sent to him, then America walked out the door, just as nervous as he was before, if not more so.

* * *

Cali coughed and she felt sharp pains running up her chest.

_Broken ribs, check._

She tried to lift her legs, only to find they were trapped under an extremely heavy rock.

_Unable to move my legs, check._

One last attempt, her arms, but she felt the same shooting pains.

_Shattered arms, check. _

The bottom of the shaft was dark, excessively dark, the only light being a torch that was 20 feet away, at the closest ledge. She blinked her eyes repeatedly, trying to get them to adjust to the lack of light and to get the dust out of her eyes as well.

Her pick was digging into her since she was lying on her back, and the heavy bucket was still there, clutched loosely by her left hand,

"Help! Help me!"

Her crackly voice did not carry as much as she would've hoped, in fact she could barely hear it herself.

_What cruel fate is this? To suffer inside a mine shaft for who knows how long, with wounds that would kill any mortal. _

It was times like these that she wished she could die. She didn't want her land to be destroyed, or to be attacked, but to just end the pain. It seems her life had always been pain, a lot of it, with the earthquakes, the wars, and the sickness.

_I swear to God, if I ever see America again, I'm going to tell him how much he means to me. I have been a complete and utter brat to him when he has been nothing but kind and compassionate to me._

She said a prayer, something she had been doing since Spain forced her convert to Catholicism. She was reminded of the missions, her childhood of running through the halls, being scolded by the nuns and priests, and praying most of all.

_I wonder if I will die. Heaven sounds pretty good right about now._

* * *

America stormed into the camp as the sun was beginning to set. The miners were just starting to retire to their tents when he arrived,

"Excuse me sir,"

He grabbed the shoulder of one of the miner with a long beard,

"Have you seen a young girl around recently? Goes by the name Angel? Wears pants?"

"Oh sure, she left camp on her horse a day or two ago. Haven't seen her since though. She's an odd one alright. Not to bad looking though."

America sighed and went over to her tent. Inside was her bear, who she had yet to name officially, and stacks of burlap sacks. All of which were filled with gold. He set his hat down on her makeshift desk and pet her bear, who snuggled into his hand,

"Good to see you too. It would be even better to see Cali though."

The bear seemed to nod to America's surprise. He picked his hat back up and placed it on his head, leaving Cali's tent and walking over to his own horse. He asked another miner for directions, then took off,

"C'mon Hero, let's go get Goldie."

* * *

California wasn't sure how long she had been in that shaft. Days, hours, maybe minutes. It was still just as dark, maybe even more so even though her eyes had had plenty of time to adjust.

She tried to move again, planning on using her quick healing to her advantage, but her arms were still shattered, and without her arms she couldn't take the rock off her legs, so she was just as trapped.

There wasn't much she could do. Lying there was getting a bit boring, and the pain had yet to subceed. Singing wasn't an option with her scratchy voice, she definitely couldn't climb anything, so she was left with her thoughts.

_I wonder what would happen if I threw an orange off the top of a redwood tree? Probably nothing special. SPLAT! Oh wait that's what happened to me. Now I'm sad again._

Deciding her thoughts weren't the best idea, she closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

* * *

America stopped when he saw San Fran tied up by the entrance of her mine. He was neighing unhappily, prodding the ground with his hooves uncomfortably. America tied up Hero next to San Fran, then ventured into the dark hole.

The smell of gunpowder was the first thing to hit him. He saw a rope dangling down into a deep hole he concluded was the main shaft. He tied himself into the rig, then lowered himself down. He heard slight sounds, like breathing or rustling from the bottom and his heart began to race.

He grabbed one of the lit torches and kept going down, calling her name, trying to locate the girl. When there was no response, he felt beads of sweat running down his neck.

His feet touched the bottom, and he realized something. He looked down and saw her lying there motionless, her eyes closed and her arms bent at awkward angles,

"Damn it Goldie, don't you go dying on me."

He pried the stone off her legs, and was relieved to see that they were not as badly broken as possible. He scooped her up, tying her into the pulley, then pulled the both of them up.

* * *

He carried her all the way back to camp. He stopped for only a short moment to drop off her horse and to get a clean pair of pants and shirt for her.

America took the still sleeping girl to a hospital nearby, and telegrammed Peter with the news. The doctors soon were operating on her arms and ribs to set them before they healed incorrectly. It was quite a look America got when he told them that she had fallen down a 50 foot mineshaft and survived.

She slept for a while in the hospital, waking up only occasionally to eat, but she was never fully aware of where she was the whole time. It was a day or two until she could realize where she was. She immediately tried to get out of her bed, claiming she was fine, trying to get back to the forgotten bucket filled with gold at the bottom of the shaft. America had to forcibly pin her to the bed to make sure she didn't hurt herself any further.

* * *

A week later, California is back on her feet. Her rapid recovery was astonishing to the doctors, but they said nothing, dismissing it as their own work.

Cali tried to go back to her tent by the river, but Peter refused to let her go anywhere. She sat in her house, eating fruits carelessly, counting and recounting her stacks of gold coins, glad to see that none of it had been taken in her absence.

She stood in the bathroom, staring at her own reflection. She could see the glint of greed in her own eyes, and it disgusted her. In a fit of blind rage, she punched the mirror. Her knuckles were bleeding, and her mirror had a huge crack going down the center. She began to sob, tired and upset by who she had become. Was it not a few years ago she was putting her all into shaping her land and protecting her citizens, but now she was centered around her own wealth?

Cali curled into a corner by the tub, the tears streaming down her cheeks. She felt so weak, broken, more broken than her ribs were. Falling down that mineshaft had really changed her and she hated it.

She wished she could go back to her tent and feel the same. Now it's ruined. That feeling deep in her heart wasn't that familiar lust for the precious metal that she had fought tooth and nail for, but the feeling of guilt. The sense that she's not getting anywhere by investing her time in the fruitless mining.

She stumbled out of the bathroom, clinging to the walls for support as she walked. Cali flung open her back door, not noticing the rain that was pouring all around her. The mud stuck to her bare feet, but she didn't notice. All she could feel was a certain self righteousness, a feeling that she liked. One that told her to abandon the river and start something else. Something bigger. Something that wouldn't run out and she wouldn't have to compete for.

She looked around at her huge backyard, thinking up ideas of what she could possibly do. The weeds that sprung up around her feet, the hoe that leaned up against the side of her barn, and the orange peels gave her an idea. A beautiful idea, one that sent adrenaline through her veins.

She bolted to the orange peels, picking up an abandoned seed and then dashing off to the small hill that sat at the end of her land. She dug a small hole with her hands, disregarding the dirt that stuck under her finger nails, and dropping the seed in. She covered it again in dirt, patting it contently as the rain got heavier.

With her hair coming out of it's twin braids, Cali yanked the ribbons out, running fingers through her long locks. She laughed at the sky crazily, throwing her arms out and collapsing to her knees.

_I'll start a garden._

* * *

I am so close to my 50th one shot! I have something special planned out for you guys, don't worry. I figured it was about time I told the story of her mining incident and about her Gold Rush days. And yes, it was Oregon who she felt was staring at her. Remember? That was when he fell in love with her? Anyway, thanks for your support! Your comments and reviews never bother me! Send more of them! Okay well, see you next time!


	50. Natatron

Natalie sat in her dark room, typing vigorously on her computer as the clock ticked on.

Geez it's getting late and I only have 1,500 words! They're gonna kill me if I don't get more. Why do I do this to myself?

Natalie sighed, saving her work and then closing the program.

_I might as well give up. It's not like they actually care. _

She climbed into bed, dismissing the thought that she should brush her teeth and wash her face.

When her eyes were just fluttering closed, there was a loud crash from downstairs. Natalie sat up in her bed, eyes wide, and hopped down from her loft bed. She threw on a robe over her pajamas and bolted down the steps, scared that her klutz of a sister hurt herself again.

When she got down to the living room however, the person that had tripped was not her sister, but a complete stranger. Natalie's first instinct was to scream, but then she recognized the girl laying on the floor.

She was dressed in a loose tank top with a bikini underneath and short denim shorts. Her hair was a gold color, it's tips a bright red, and when she made eye contact with Natalie, her blue eyes shone with the golden flecks as they always did. California quickly pulled herself off the floor, dusting off her outfit, and gave Natalie a big smile,

"Thank god it's you! I was getting worried there for a minute!"

"California?"

Cali nodded her head excitedly,

"It's like, so cool to meet you!"

Natalie took a few steps forward, examining her muse carefully,

"Wow it's really you."

"Yup! You know, I thought you'd be taller."

Cali looked downward at the girl,

"And prettier. And skinnier. And-"

"Finish that list and I'll make you into even more of an airhead than you already are."

Cali shut up at that claim. Natalie ran her fingers through her short, brown, curly hair,

"So, why are you here exactly?"

California's happy-go-lucky grin disappeared,

"Well, I noticed that you stopped writing."

Natalie nodded sheepishly,

"I feel like the readers don't like my stories."

"How come? You're a great writer."

Natalie bit her lip,

"But you're only saying that because I'm telling you to! I'm sitting on my bed right now typing out this entire conversation!"

Cali put a hand over Natalie's mouth,

"Stop breaking the forth wall! It's bad enough we've met!"

Natalie sighed,

"Yeah, I guess so."

"But seriously though, who's to say you aren't a brilliant writer? Has anyone ever told you you're not?"

"Well, no but-"

"Exactly. You can't expect yourself to be at a higher level than what you're at now. Don't go around comparing yourself to other writers because they aren't you."

"Have you read "Auf Wiedersehen Sweetheart"? It's fantastic!"

"Your writing isn't perfect, I'll give you that, but you have improved a lot since I was created. You went from 600 words a day to 2,000 every other day! That's what I call progress!"

Natalie smiled shyly at California,

"I have a question for you. Are you happy? Did I do anything wrong?"

California placed a hand on her shoulder,

"You have definitely not given me the happiest background, but that was what shaped me into what I am today. If I haven't fallen down that mineshaft, I never would've seen the light and stopped being so greedy. I am happy. After all, you gave me a hunky guy and that's all I need."

Natalie's small smile turned into a larger one,

"Thanks. I'm glad I didn't screw this one up."

California laughed at that,

"While I'm here, why don't you tell the readers a bit about yourself! It's only fair since they know me so well."

Natalie nodded,

"Well, my name is Natalie, obviously, or Natatron as you know me. I got into Hetalia about a year or so ago. It's the greatest fandom I have ever been apart of, I cherish every second of it. I live in Southern California-"

"The best state ever!"

Natalie rolled her eyes,

"Yeah, sure. I go to OCSA, a performing arts school. I do indeed sing, dance, and act, in case you were wondering. I have one older sister, my mom and dad, two pet rats, a golden retriever, and a beta fish. I'm not sure how interested you are in hearing all this though."

She paused at looked at California, who proceeded to encourage her to continue,

"Okay, well, I have a tumblr. My main is called snollyg0ster and my other one is actually called Ask-Golden-California."

"You have a blog for me?"

"Well yeah, you should know this. I RP with other people using you."

"So that's what that was!"

Natalie nodded,

"I love every single one of you guys. Who ever is reading this, I love you. Your support is more than I could have ever hoped for. With every suggestion, new follower, favorite, and comment I feel like I'm really doing something good. I'm writing a story that might make someone's day maybe. Thank you. Thank you so much. I can't describe how much you mean to me. You wonderful people, a million author's notes couldn't explain how much gratitude I have you each and every one of you."

Cali smiled as Natalie ranted on about how much her fans mean to her. California stepped toward her, hugged her tightly,

"Would it kill you to make me hotter?"

Then she stepped away. Cali gave her a little salute, then disappeared.

Natalie looked around, confused as to where she had gone, but then she realized something. California was always there. Always giving her opinion on something, ready to perform at the drop of a hat for her viewers, there to inspire Natalie.

They aren't separate people, but one person. All working to together to bring you, the reader, a story. One a lot like the one you'll be getting on Thursday.

She is Natalie. And Natalie is Natatron. And Natatron is California.

* * *

Natalie took a moment to pull out her phone and look at her latest chapter. She wanted to be sure that her 50th chapter was flawless before she posted it, after all.

_God that last line was cheesy. But hey, who knows? It's pretty deep after all and readers eat that stuff up. I should really check for spelling errors and grammar and stuff, but that's boring. Of course I'm gonna regret it like in that one chapter where I'm describing how hard it is to wake Cali up and I accidentally said "The louder you are the easier it is to wake her up" instead of the quieter you are. That haunts me, I should fix that. _

* * *

Natalie pulled her headphones out of her backpack, stuffing them in her ears, and going to tumblr.

_I shouldn't use too much of my data. _

She closed the tumblr app, and then decided to check on her most recent draft for her story.

_Okay, looks good. I think. I wonder how many words this is. Probably not too many, though I'll have to check later. _

She went to her email, grinning when she saw that there was a review waiting for her.

_These guys rock. They're always giving me suggestions, complimenting my work, asking questions. Aw shucks, they said it was good! That's all I need. _

She locked her phone, then walked into her history class.

* * *

Darting up the stairs, Natalie turned on her computer. She was ready to email the draft to herself, then edit it in Doc Manager. She typed for a few minutes, making grammatical edits and some other decisions on how to format and present her newest chapter.

_I kinda wish I hadn't told them they would be getting something special this time. Maybe it's not enough to give them a inside look at me, what if they expected something major to happen to California like Oregon saving her or something like that. Ooh, I should write that down! Hmmm, I should do homework but I need to get this up soon. I hate that I post every time at like 9 right before I go to bed. That's why it takes so long for them to read it. Also it's probably time zones and stuff. _

She took a moment to lean back from her monitor to crack her knuckles. The window was open, so she looked out of it for a brief moment, trying to think of something to add to make the chapter longer.

_I only have 1,487 words! Ooh now it's 1,494 words! And now it's 1,502 words! Wait, I see what's happening. 1,513! Calm down, channel your inner writer! Crap, I totally forgot about my science homework. I should do that, shouldn't I? Geez I'm rambling now. Readers, just skip all of this, I'm ridiculous. Are you reading still? You're just as insane as me if you are._

(One homework assignment later)

_Phew, got that done! Okay, back to the chapter. Maybe, since it's the 50th special, it's okay to do less words! I think. Maybe it works the other way. Is it possible that writing for Cali is easier than whatever this is? I need a muse for my life! Wait, I think that's me._

Natalie frowned when she saw that she only had 1,625 words. Deciding she would just write a long author's note, Natalie saved the document, and pressed the enter key.

* * *

(Guess what song I'm listening to?) WHAT'S COOLER THAN BEING COOL? ICE COLD! ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT ALL RIGHT. Sorry, I'm really excited. This is going to be a super obnoxious A/N so strap in~! *Serious voice* I absolutely cannot say this enough, thank you. I adore every single one of you, and I want to shower you all in love and cookies. Unfortunately, the closest I can get to that is to give you a chapter every other day filled with my wonderful California.

You reviewers, you know who you are, are the most incredible people I have ever known. And I don't really even know you guys. I love you that much. With every review I read, you will see the dopiest, goofiest, dorkiest grin on my face. I will squeal, jump up and down, and make a complete and utter fool out of myself even if your review is two words long. On my worst day, your kinds words will make me smile, no matter what.

I got the idea for this chapter a few days ago, marking this chapter as the first one that wasn't mainly about California. Hopefully, the risk I'm taking in writing one about me will not cause all of you to leave me, I promise I have a regular chapter coming up! So, as I've said on so many occasions, see you next time!


	51. Cuddles and Guns

California was standing at the bus stop next to Oregon. When the bus pulled up, she smiled devilishly and stepped on,

"Hold on! Our bus is the next one!"

Cali looked over her shoulder,

"I think you mean your bus is the next one."

Oregon frowned,

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm leaving you for Texas. Come on, did you actually think I would date you when I have the strongest, most handsome state wrapped around my finger?"

Cali giggled as tears began to well up in Oregon's eyes,

"But Cali I-"

Suddenly, Texas walks up from behind Oregon and pushes him roughly aside,

"Move it, you nobody!"

Oregon could only lay there and Texas grabbed California by the hips, and kissed her roughly and deeply, leaning her back,

"California? I thought that-"

"Thought what? That I actually cared about you? No, I just wanted to see the look on your face when I told you how much better Texas is than you."

She laughed, then wrapped her arms around Texas's neck once more. As they continued to kiss passionately, Oregon got to his feet and ran. Ran the opposite direction of the bus. It began to rain and he fell flat on his face, sobbing into the concrete, as he feels his heart breaking.

* * *

Oregon wakes up with a start.

_Oh thank god it was a dream. _

Cali turns over in her sleep and flops her arms around his waist, nuzzling her nose into his back.

Oregon lays back down, Cali shifting her legs to intertwine with his. He turns around and rests his head on top of her's, letting a small smile to creep across his face.

She, while still asleep, began muttering in Spanish,

"Estoy enamorado de ti."

Oregon did not know much Spanish at all, so he made a mental note to ask someone later. He traced the light scar on her bare back with his forefinger. He took advantage of her serenity to take in every part of her. The smell of her hair was comforting to his racing heart and he reminded himself that that was a dream, not reality.

He ran his hands up and down her curvy hips, feeling every bump and patch of skin she had to offer. The way her long eyelashes fluttered every time he touched her made his heart race. Oregon wanted nothing more than to hold this girl in his arms forever, forget all his responsibilities, and just spend eternity in bliss.

Cali, who was still sleeping, mind you, put a single hand on his back, the other one pressed onto his exposed chest. She smiled, kissing the bottom of his neck, and then began to snore softly again, entering a deeper sleep.

* * *

When Cali woke up, she blinked a few times, stretching her arms, and untangling her legs from his. Oregon leans back as California wiggles her toes, trying to get some feeling back in them,

"What time is it?"

Oregon looked across the room at the clock in California's room,

"10:13"

Cali's eyes grow wide and she throws the blankets off her self, jumping out of bed,

"Damn! I totally forgot I had to get up today!"

Oregon laughed as she scrambled to put an outfit on,

"What's the occasion?"

"I'm meeting with Texas and Yorkie today. Jerry is gonna kill me!"

Oregon stops laughing,

"You're going to see Texas?"

Cali pulls her top on over her head,

"Yeah, why?"

Oregon pulls the blankets back up over his legs,

"Nothing. It's nothing."

Cali takes a moment to look at Oregon quizzically,

"No really, what is it? I meet with those two wackos on a regular basis."

Oregon frowns at this,

"I just had a nightmare last night."

"Did Yorkie finally figure out who dented his Avengers action figures in it? I'm pretty sure he would kill me if that ever happened."

Oregon smiled weakly at this,

"No, it was you and Texas, and you guys..."

He trailed off, staring at the sheets, clenched in his hands.

Cali say down on the bed next to him, pecking his cheek lightly,

"Whatever it was, don't sweat it! I'm sure it was unrealistic anyway."

Oregon bit his lip,

"It wasn't. It was really realistic."

Cali put an arm around his shoulders,

"I'm sure that-"

She was interrupted by her phone going off. She reluctantly let go of him, and answered the call,

"Yes Jerry? What's up?"

She smiled sheepishly,

"Yeah, sorry about that, I'll be there in a sec!"

She hung up the phone, rolled her eyes, and then looked at Oregon apologetically,

"Gotta go. You know how it is."

She blew a kiss to him, then picked up her high-heels from her closet, and dashed outside.

* * *

Oregon has just found his pants, which had been impressively thrown up onto a chandelier by California the night before, when the door bell went off.

He debated whether or not to answer it, but the person was impatiently knocking on the door, without relenting, so he decided to just open it.

He opened the door, and came face to face with a bouquet of English roses. Both Oregon and London were taken by surprise at who was standing in front of them.

London let his hand that was carrying the flowers drop and he looked curiously at Oregon,

"I'm awfully sorry. My name is London, I'm looking for California."

Oregon crossed his arms,

"I'm Oregon."

London pulled out an American map and studied it carefully,

"I must have gone a tad North. Well, thank you and have a nice day, sir."

Oregon grabbed him by the shoulder as he turned around,

"Hold on. Why were you looking for California?"

London looked down at the flowers in his hand and then back up to Oregon, smiling smugly,

"Take a guess."

Oregon narrowed his eyes,

"Stay away from her."

London put his hands on his hips,

"And why should I?"

London stood a little straighter, looking down on the shorter state,

Oregon looked away nervously,

"Well, I'm her boyfriend!"

London took a moment to register the information. He raised one eyebrow,

"You're serious?"

Oregon nodded. London began to laugh loudly, offending Oregon greatly,

"You're her boyfriend?! Yeah right!"

Oregon narrowed his eyes again,

"How do you know I'm not?"

London smirked,

"I know for a fact that a gorgeous woman like California wouldn't date a weasel like you."

Oregon felt anger bubbling up inside of him, and he slammed the door in London's face, just barely whizzing past his nose.

_Damn Brit, thinking they're entitled to everything. I am not a weasel! _

Oregon gathered up the rest of his stuff and was heading out the door, but then he thought about if London came back.

_Best to stay here for the day._

He sent a text to Cali, telling her that he would be staying at her place because he couldn't get a ride back home, and she promptly replied,

* * *

**That's fine. I'll be busy for the next few hours, but when I get home we can get dinner or something else ;) **

Oregon went bright red as he looked at the winky-face.

_I'm never going to get used to her flirting. _

Oregon put his phone away, then went to find Salem, his pet beaver.

After searching the entire house a few times, he finally decided to check Cali's huge garden and found him in the fountain, swimming around lazily. Sacramento was fast asleep next to the marble fountain, laying in the shade. Oregon patted Sacramento's pelt lightly, then scooped up Salem from the water. Oregon stumbled a bit when he did pick him up,

"Wow Salem, getting a bit heavy, huh?"

Salem clawed at Oregon's nose, missing it by an inch,

"No offense bud."

He then whispered to him,

"Have you seen Sacramento? I think Cali's been feeding him more than usual lately."

Sacramento perked up his big head, yawning widely, showcasing his large, sharp teeth. Oregon took a step back, holding up his hand that wasn't carrying Salem in defense.

All Sacramento did, however, was flop back over onto his back, snoring softly.

_Lazy bear. _

* * *

California sat at the table, drumming her fingers. She let her head fall onto her hand, closing her eyelids slightly. Texas, who sat next to her, elbowed her gently in the side,

"No, I wanna sleep."

New York rolled his eyes and whispered to the girl,

"Our bosses are trying to talk!"

Cali's head hit the table loudly, and soon she could be heard snoring from across the room where all three of their governors were.

Jerry Brown looked over at California and sighed,

"Could you wake up California for me?"

York tried shaking her shoulder, but when that failed to get a response, he shouted,

"Free iTunes gift cards!"

Cali shot up, eyes wide, then when she realized what York had done, she swatted him on the shoulder,

"I was trying to sleep! I barely got any sleep last night."

York said under his breath,

"Well maybe if you weren't having sex with Oregon..."

Cali stood up, grabbing York by the collar and lifting him off the ground,

"Wanna run that by me again?"

York squirmed in her grip, but got no where, earning a few laughs from Texas,

"Calm down Cali, it's been proven before that York doesn't always think before he speaks."

"Hey!"

Cali frowned, but set him down any way. Andrew Cuomo, York's boss, sent a look of astonishment at California, before quickly returning to his conversation with Jerry and Rick Perry, Texas's boss.

Cali, the instant they had looked away, stomped on York's foot. York let out a high yelp, and Texas and Cali began to laugh their heads off,

"I didn't know you could hit that octave and still be a man!"

York glared at the two, and kicked Texas under the table. Texas stopped laughing and kicked him back. He accidentally kicked Cali, however who muttered,

"Don't drag me into this."

Cali stood up from the table that the three were sitting at and strutted over to where she had left her purse.

She pulled out her phone to see that she had yet to get a reply from Oregon, and that she had two missed calls from Arizona.

She walked out into the hall, excusing herself, and called Arizona,

"Hey Ari, I forgot to tell you that-"

"Where are you?"

Arizona's oddly aggressive voice came from the phone,

"Oh sorry Ari, I forgot to tell you that I had a meeting with Texas and Yorkie today."

"How come you have Oregon at your house?"

Cali sighed,

"Ari, why are you at my house?"

Silence,

"Seth Gregory Jones, why are you at my house?"

Cali used his full name, and Arizona knows this means business, so he says calmly,

"I broke my phone again and I wanted to see if you could fix it."

California is known as the tech guru in the country, so many people come to her asking for help, all of whom get the door slammed in their face. She didn't study technology just so she could tell people how to make calls,

"Arizona, why didn't you just go to Best Buy or something?"

The door of the meeting room where she was supposed to be opened and Jerry said to her,

"Cali, I need you in here."

"Gotta go Ari, see you later!"

"Wait, what about Ore-"

She hung up the phone quickly, ignoring Arizona's shout, and marching back into the room,

"Sorry about that, Arizona called me and he would flip-out again if I ignored another one of his calls. What did I miss?"

She sat back down in her chair, noticing the huge dents in the table legs, but not saying anything about it. Cali tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned on the table in front on her,

"Well,"

Began Texas,

"They wanted our opinion on.."

Texas stopped, looked around then said in a hushed voice,

"Homosexuality."

Cali sat up a bit straighter,

"Oh, so gay people!"

Texas cringed and York laughed at how uncomfortable he was with the subject. Cali leaned back, shrugging,

"It's not like I have any problem with it. Have you ever been to the Bay Area? That place is gay central."

York nodded,

"They're people just like us, even if their love is different, doesn't mean they shouldn't be able to love one another."

Cali and York looked over at Texas, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else. He looked at his boss desperately, but he just shrugged, so Texas said,

"Well, and remember it's my opinion, I think homosexuality is wrong."

He subconsciously inched away from the other two as Cali frowned and said,

"But why?"

Texas shrugged, relieved that she didn't attack him, and said,

"It's just not natural to me."

"You know what else isn't natural? Medicine. Soap. Twinkies. Yet nobody seems to have a problem with those."

York agreed silently and Texas wrung his hands,

"Like I said, it's my opinion."

Cali smiled and put a hand on his shoulder,

"And you're entitled to that. Just remember that freedom of speech isn't a license to be stupid."

York was about to say something when Cali continued,

"Besides, have you seen those crazy bible people? They were protesting at Comic Con! A comic book convention! I mean, what's sacrilegious about that?"

York laughed,

"Not to mention the Westboro Baptist Church. Those guys are pretty awful, I mean, protesting soldier's funerals? Come on."

"It's sad really."

Texas smiled halfheartedly at York and Cali,

"Thanks you gu-"

"And don't even get me started on the Mormons!"

Cali frowned at that,

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

York turned to her, confused,

"What? The Mormons don't like gays."

Cali looked at York accusingly,

"So you're saying that all Mormons are bad?"

York shook his head,

"No, Cali I-"

"Because my brother happens to be Mormon. And I know for a fact that Mormonism started in New York."

York tilted his head,

"Wait, it did?"

Cali nodded,

"You try to tune out Utah's lectures about the history of Mormonism, but you pick up some stuff."

Texas nodded,

"I'm impressed with you guys. I thought for sure you were gonna tear my head off."

"Well, I totes would, figuratively of course, but Jerry would kill me if I went off on another tangent."

Jerry looked up from a sheet of paper Cuomo had just passed him and raised an eyebrow at Cali, who waved innocently. Jerry sighed, lowering the paper,

"Well, that's all we need you three for. You're all free to go."

Cali leaped up, grabbing her purse, and then dashed out, blowing a kiss to Texas and New York.

A light blush crossed York's features, and Texas sniggered at him,

"You got something to say, huh dirt brain?"

Texas chuckled, turning around and sticking out his chest proudly,

"I was just laughing at how you're still crushing on her. She's dating Oregon, and you know it!"

York clenched his fists,

"Shut the hell up."

Texas leaned over so he was looking York straight in the eye,

"Just get over her already! She doesn't like you, she barely even tolerates you!"

The three governors in the room all exchanged looks, then proceeded to bolt out of the room.

York put a hand to his pocket, making sure his gun was still there, and glared at the larger state,

"It's not like she likes you!"

Texas smiled widely,

"Yeah but I actually accepted that and got over it. Why don't you? It's so pathetic to watch."

York pulled out his gun, pointing it at Texas's chest, but Texas already had his pointing at York,

"You're never gonna be beat me, Yankee."

York pulled the safety off his gun,

"Let's settle this."

* * *

Cali skipped down the hall, swinging her bag back and forth.

_I'll take Oregon some place nice tonight. Hm, but where? _

A gun goes off and Cali freezes. She looks back over her shoulder fearfully as the three governors began to run down the hall.

Jerry told her to run out of the building, or something of the sort, but instead she took off back to the meeting room.

Her feet made small cracks on the floor from the sheer amount of force she put into each step.

Cali tore the door open, seeing the two boys in there, aiming guns at each other.

There was no time for Cali to dive to safety, York had mistaken her for an intruder and, going on instinct, shot in her direction.

Her left shoulder flew backwards as the bullet entered her body. She let out a short gasp before falling to her knees,

"Okay, ow."

Cali hunched over, grabbing at her shoulder. Texas rushed forward, followed by York,

"Help! Somebody, we need help!"

Cali coughed,

"And this is why I don't like guns."

York frowned when he saw the wound. When he tried to examine it further, he had to pull down her sleeve, revealing her bra. Texas and York exchanged a look of conflict, but then Jerry burst in,

"Oh my god, what happened?!"

Texas picked up Cali,

"York shot her."

"Wait I-"

Texas glared at him,

"Okay, yes. But it was an accident!"

Texas walked out of the hall, still carrying Cali, who said,

"Please hurry."

And then she passed out in his arms.

* * *

"YOU BASTARD, YOU SHOT MY SISTER!"

Arizona had York by the collar, holding him up against the wall, his eyes burning with rage,

"Ari, chill, I'm fine."

Cali tried to sit up in her hospital bed, but Utah and Colorado held her down,

"You're not going anywhere until that wound closes."

Cali gave Colorado a pout,

"Den, come on, I've been through much worse than this."

Colorado folded his arms, not convinced,

"Do I have to list them for you?"

Cali counted on her fingers all her major earthquakes,

"1857, 1872, 1906, 1952, 1922,-"

Arizona let go of York,

"Still, you're staying one more day."

Oregon stepped cautiously into the room,

"California? How are you doing?"

Cali's face lit up,

"I'm doing a lot better, thanks." She smiled widely at him as he presented her with a cheesy 'Get Well Soon' card. Arizona and York frowned, but Texas smiled.

A shout was heard from down the hall, accompanied by loud footsteps,

"GOLDIE!"

America burst into the room, only faltering when he saw the white bandages striping her left shoulder,

"Goldie, what happened?"

Cali looked at Texas and York, who both averted their eyes, and said,

"Well, Texas and Yorkie both decided it would be a grand idea to pull out their guns, and apparently Yorkie shot me on accident."

America turned around so he was facing Texas and York, his usual dopey smile replaced by a glare,

"You two had guns? And you pulled them on each other?"

Texas nodded, still not looking America in the eyes, and York shrugged. America held out a hand, his palm up and Texas looks at him, confused,

"Texas, New York, I want both of your guns right now. Consider yourselves grounded."

Texas's eyes got wide,

"You can't do that!"

"Watch me."

America continued to hold out his hand until York and Texas put their guns in his hand,

"Good. Now Goldie,"

He turned around putting both guns in his empty holster that he had under his bomber jacket,

"I want you to take it easy. I'm taking you to Germany in a week or so. I would've taken Texas and York, but they're both grounded."

Cali laughed a bit,

"Alright. I'm fine even now, but Den and Tah here won't let me leave."

America looked at Colorado and Utah approvingly,

"Good."

He then turned around, giving Texas and York one last look before leaving. York turned too, grumbling about being grounded even though he was over 100 years old, and then walking out of the room, hands in pockets. Texas tipped his hat to Cali politely, then went out after York.

* * *

Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Oregon all stayed with her for the next few days. She tried to get up, but every time they would force her back into the bed.

Once the doctor gave her the okay to leave, she sprung to her feet, grinning triumphantly. She failed to realize, however, that the back of her hospital gown was open, and Arizona leaped forward, covering her backside with his denim jacket.

She got changed back into her regular clothes, and checked out of the hospital.

Oregon walked next to her, and when she grabbed his hand he didn't protest. Arizona, who was walking behind them, sprung forward, but Utah and Colorado caught him by the shoulders, forcing him to walk calmly behind the couple.

* * *

I am so sorry that this is late! I spent the night at a friends, and I couldn't post it from her house, so I just made it longer, so you get a long chapter to make up for it! There will be more with the London vs Oregon thing and the Germany thing, so look forward to that! And don't worry, I'll put some AL/TN in here eventually, A Fan. Also, I love your suggestions! Just because I don't always use them, or can find a way to include them, doesn't mean I don't enjoy them or think about them! Keep those reviews coming, and see you next time!


	52. A Golden Diplomat

"And that's the story of how I accidentally joined a Mexican gang."

Cali smiled innocently at America, who was gaping at the girl,

"Ooh! Here comes our luggage!"

She bent over to grab her white with a red star on the corner suitcase, plucking up the heavy bag with ease. America grabbed his satchel, then followed after her.

They exited the airport, looking around for Germany and/or Prussia.

America was the one who spotted Germany, looking extremely tired and irritated as he talked on the phone,

"Come on Goldie, let's go over to him."

He slung his bag over his shoulder, and walked over to the bench Germany was sitting on. Cali followed him, observing her surroundings as she skipped over.

Germany put a hand to his forehead,

"Prussia, I will make you food when I pick up America and California from the airport. Don't touch anything."

America sat down next to him,

"Dude! What's up?"

Cali stood next to him, smiling gently.

Germany hung up the phone and stood up,

"I'm sorry about that. Shall we go?"

Cali nodded at him and pulled America up by the arm,

"Sure! I've never been here before."

Germany tilted his head, looking at the girl,

"You haven't?"

"Nope! When I became a state, it didn't make much sense for me to visit, not to mention it already took a few months to cross the country, crossing an ocean is out of the question. Then the whole "World War" thing happened, so there weren't really any good opportunities."

California and America followed Germany through the parking lot to Germany's car,

"You two will be staying at my home, is that alright?"

Cali nodded and America said,

"Sure!"

The car ride was mostly filled with America's mindless chatter, but when they arrived at Germany's home, and went inside, they were confronted by the smell of cooking pasta, and the sound of first-person shooter games.

Italy hopped out of the kitchen, holding a wooden spoon, but his smile disappeared when he spot California,

"AH! GERMANY, IT'S THAT PRETTY GIRL THAT BEAT ME UP!"

Italy dropped his spoon, sprinting back into the kitchen.

Germany and America both gave California confused looks, and she shrugged,

"Okay, it was a while ago. I didn't know he remembered."

America put his hand on her shoulder,

"When did you beat up Italy?"

"World War 2?"

Germany raised an eyebrow, causing California to say,

"He was on Hawaii the day it was bombed. I found him, and kinda beat him up for information."

America suppressed a laugh while Germany went to calm Italy down,

"Italy, stop acting like such a coward, and say hello to our guests. Or my guests, I suppose."

California smiled at Italy, who stuck his head out from underneath the table to look at her,

"Oh! So the Bella doesn't want to hurt me?"

Cali shook her head, still smiling, as said,

"Mi spiace."

Italy smiled a bit and stood up,

"Yay! Do you like pasta?"

"I love pasta!"

Italy cheered as he went back to stirring the noodles. Cali went to the fridge,

"I'll make the sauce!"

The loud video games stopped, and Prussia came up the basement stairs,

"Yo! West! Gimme some food!"

Germany rolled his eyes. America waved to Prussia, who promptly responded,

"Aw sick, is America staying?"

Prussia high-fived America, and then walked into the kitchen,

"Hey Italy, what's cooking? Don't answer that."

Cali turned from the fridge, tomatoes in hand and said to Prussia,

"Hi! I'm California! It's nice to properly meet you."

Prussia took off his gaming headset, and looked at California up and down, not saying anything.

Cali turned back to slicing the tomatoes, smiling happily, humming a little song while Italy danced around the kitchen. She bent over to pick up a fork she dropped, giving Prussia a nice view of her ass. Prussia raised one eyebrow, smiling faintly.

California straightened up, placing the fork back on the counter, oblivious to the looks Prussia was giving her,

"Hey, Goldie?"

"Yeah?"

She turned to him, smiling and holding the large knife up by her head, scaring everyone in the room,

"How's everything with Michigan?"

Cali rolled her eyes, stabbing the cutting board,

"I hate her! She thinks that she's the only one with problems these days! It's all 'California did this!' 'This is California's fault!' Well, I'm sorry, but I have my own things to deal with!"

Italy whimpered at the murderous look on her face, and when Cali noticed, it instantly disappeared,

"But whatever. She's so not worth getting mad about."

She went back to smiling, cutting up the tomatoes. Prussia sat down at the dining table as she scraped them into a sauce pan and turned on the heat. Italy was almost done with the pasta, straining the water in the sink,

"California, your sauce smells wonderful!"

Cali smiled,

"Thanks! I do have the best food in the country."

America raised one eyebrow, and was about to say something, but she interrupted,

"In-In-Out."

America's mouth shut. Italy and California both prepared dishes for everyone and laid them out on the table.

She sat down at the table, laying her napkin on her lap, and picking up her fork. Her pleasant demeanor disappeared, however, when she noticed America shoveling in mouthful after mouthful of pasta. She wrinkled her nose and swatted him on the arm,

"Slow down, will you? Have some manners!"

America rolled his eyes, and said with his mouth still full,

"Okay mom."

Cali glared at him, and the temperature in the room dropped 10 degrees. She folded her arms and didn't stop glaring at him until he set down his fork, wiped his face, and laid his own napkin on his lap,

"That's better."

Prussia laughed obnoxiously,

"Ha! America just got owned by a girl!"

Cali turned to him, now smiling smugly,

"It would be a lot more impressive if Hungary didn't kick your ass all the time."

A small grin made it's way onto Germany's face and Prussia stopped laughing,

"How do you know that?"

"Liechtenstein told me."

Italy was on his second plate of pasta by now, grinning contently.

* * *

Dinner was over, all the dishes in the sink, so California went upstairs to take a shower. When she announced this, Prussia immediately headed upstairs after her, ignoring Germany's warnings.

America just smiled,

"In 3, 2, 1."

There was a loud, high-pitched scream, followed by an impressive clang of pickax meeting skull.

Suddenly, Prussia is fleeing downstairs, to the basement, holding what appears to be California's bra, and pinching his nose to stem the bleeding,

"Not awesome! Not awesome!"

Cali stomps down the stairs, clad only in a towel, and steaming with rage. She twirls her pickax in her hands,

"Where is he?"

Germany and America both point the the basement, not saying anything, but both quite amused.

Cali, holding up her towel in one hand, gripping her weapon in the other, strides over to the basement.

Surprisingly, there's another high-pitched scream, but it's not from California. America is guffawing loudly as California comes back up the stairs, holding up Prussia by the back of his shirt,

"Where's your fireplace?"

Prussia begins to squirm in her grip, but she holds onto him tightly. Germany, now with a very amused look on his face, says,

"I know he deserves it, but you can't burn my brother."

Cali sighs and lets go of Prussia. He bolts down the hall, trying to escape her further wrath, but California throws her pickax with such force and accuracy, it nails him in the back of the head, causing him to fall onto his face.

America is now hunched over in laughter, Germany laughing weakly, and Italy laughing just because Germany is.

* * *

Cali comes back downstairs later, her hair still wet. Prussia is down in the basement, avoiding her, and when she walks down, he leaps back, clutching his head protectively,

"Yo, chill. I just want to see if you have any good games."

She sits down on the couch and picks up the controller,

"Hey, put that down! I'm in the middle of a game!"

She unpauses it, and immediately begins firing. The points add up as she murders every enemy, collects all the ammo and health packs, eventually beating the mission as Prussia watches in astonishment,

"Wow, I never knew a girl could play like that!"

"And I never knew a dissolved nation could still exist. There's a first for everything, I guess."

"Fair enough."

Though the comment stung, he couldn't help but admire the girl for her skills. They played for the next few hours, California wiping the floor with him, until America came down to say to her,

"Goldie, it's getting late. You might want to get some sleep."

She sighed,

"I'm older than you, you know."

America chuckled,

"Everyone here is. But that doesn't make me any less your boss."

She set down the controller, giving Prussia a little salute, and marching up the stairs.

Prussia followed her up, but when he saw the wistful look on America's face, he stopped to talk to him,

"What's with the look?"

America laughed a bit as he watched California walk up the stairs to where she was staying,

"They grow up so fast. One day, they're just a territory and the next thing you know, they have the 8th largest economy in the world, speak 5 languages, and are the entertainment capital of the world."

Prussia placed a hand on America's shoulder,

"Tell me about it. It seems like just yesterday West was half my size. Also, why do you call her Goldie?"

"That's her nickname, like officially. 'The Golden State'. She had the whole gold rush thing, not to mention all the sun they get there, and name sort of stuck."

Prussia nodded contently,

"Well, I'm gonna go back to my game."

America patted him on the back,

"See you in the morning, dude."

* * *

London knocked on California's door, holding a fresh bouquet of roses.

When nobody answered, he sat on her porch, feeling dejected.

_Is that girl ever home?_

At that moment, Oregon came walking down the street, heading back to Cali's house to get his phone that he left there a few days prior.

When he saw London, his disposition changed to a much angrier one,

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

London stood up, flattening the wrinkles in his pants,

"Well, I am here to see the beautiful California. However, it appears as though she is not home at the moment. Why are you here?"

Oregon put his hands in his pockets,

"I left my phone here, so I came to get it. By the way, Cali is in Germany this week."

London nodded thoughtfully,

"Alright, I will come back then."

Oregon took a step towards him,

"That wasn't an invitation!"

London scoffed at him,

"Does it look like I care?"

Pulling out his spare key that California gave him, Oregon unlocked the door and stepped inside,

"Stay out here."

London crossed his arms but didn't say anything.

Once he was inside, Oregon found his phone and dialed Arizona,

"Hey, Arizona-"

"Why are you calling me? Is Cali okay?"

"Yeah she's fine, but there's this guy at her house and-"

"WHAT?"

The phone went dead and Oregon smirked.

_That'll teach him to mess with me._

* * *

"GO AWAY AND NEVER COME BACK!"

"Who are you?! Stop shooting arrows at me! Ah!"

* * *

Okay, shorter chapter, but it's getting late and this is all I could do for the night. I think that's all I'm going to do with the Germany thing, but who knows? It could go anywhere at this point. Okay, I gotta go, so please review and see you next time!


	53. Wining and Dining

The candles were lit, the roses pruned, and Oregon stood by the table, fiddling with the sleeves of his suit.

He'd spend a week trying to get these reservations for him and California, and he had finally gotten them.

He saw Cali entering the room, talking to the hostess for a moment before spotting Oregon, and striding over.

_God, she looks great. _

Cali's knee length, dazzling, baby blue dress fit her snugly, accenting her hips and waist with elegance.

She stood by the table, looking at him with those sparkling, ocean blue eyes that paralyzed him. Oregon found it hard to breathe for a moment, frozen in place by how incredible she looked.

When he was able to move his feet, he stepped forward and pulled her chair out for her. She gladly sat and he pushed the chair in as well. He sat down at his own seat,

"You look marvelous."

California smiled earnestly,

"Thank you. You look rather dashing yourself."

Oregon looked down at his black suit jacket, unsure whether or not she could see the jelly stain he had gotten on the sleeve,

"Thanks."

The waiter walked up to them,

"Thank you for joining us tonight, could I get you two anything to drink?"

"Water for me please."

California looked at Oregon patiently,

"Oh, I'll get the water as well."

The waiter scribbled down their order, then asked,

"Could I get you two any wine?"

California opened the wine menu and took a quick glance,

"Could we have the Merlot, please?"

"Of course, madam."

Cali nodded, smiling, and handed the wine menu to the waiter, who took it and walked off,

"I'm sorry, I should have asked you first before ordering the wine."

Oregon shrugged,

"I trust your opinion. No one knows wine like you."

A light dusting of pink appeared on California's face thanks to the compliment.

Oregon felt proud of himself for making Cali blush when it was usually the other way around.

The waiter returned, carrying a bottle of wine,

"Here you are, I will be right back with your water."

He set the drink and the glasses on the table, and then bustled off, obviously busy.

Oregon poured himself a glass, and then poured one for Cali.

She picked up her glass by the stem and held it upwards,

"To our country."

"Alfred?"

"No, not Alfred, our country. A common cause."

Oregon held up his glass as well, and touched his glass to hers,

"To our country."

They both took a sip of the liquid, Oregon thoroughly impressed by the wine,

"Wow, this is incredible!"

Cali giggled,

"I'm glad you like it. Napa Valley has never failed me."

They both pulled out their menus again, studying the options.

California was just decided between two salads, when she glanced a bit to her left and spotted some familiar people at a table a little ways away,

_Oh no. It can't be. It's not, of course it's not. _

But it was. New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona all sat at a table a little ways away from her.

She lifted up the menu so they couldn't see her,

_Do they know I'm here? Maybe they were just visiting and decided to grab some food and- oh who am I kidding? Of course they know I'm here! What can I do now?!_

Oregon noticed that Cali was hiding behind her menu, and was about to say something, when he had the instinct that someone was staring at him, so he turned his head slightly to the left,

_Hold on, is that who I think it is?_

Idaho and Washington both look away when he notices them,

_Crap, how did they know I was coming here? Are they here to ruin my date? _

He held up his menu as well, trying to avoid his sister's eyes.

_What am I gonna do?_

_What am I gonna do?_

California peeked around her menu, and saw that Oregon had his up as well. She laid it down on the table, and tapped Oregon's,

"I'll be right back, I'm going to the restroom."

With no intention of actually going to the restroom, Cali stood up from the table. She put the napkin back on the table and walked over to where her brothers were sitting.

Hoping Oregon wasn't watching, she yell-whispered,

"What the hell are you guys doing here?"

Arizona refused to look her in the eye, so New Mexico said,

"Well, we were just in the area, and we decided this would be a nice place to-"

"Max Rodriguez Jones, don't give me that story."

New Mexico shut up, looking at Colorado desperately,

"We care about you, you know that, so we came along to make sure you were okay."

Cali rolled her eyes,

"Did I raise you all to act like this? What did I do that makes me so vulnerable?"

Arizona said,

"It's not you, I just don't like you out with Oregon."

"Why?"

Colorado nudged Arizona playfully,

"It's because you're giving him more attention than Arizona, huh?"

Arizona turned red and punched Colorado, but didn't deny it,

"Look, it's really sweet of you to come check-up on me, but you all really need to leave, okay?"

Colorado frowned, looking at the menu,

"But I wanted a steak!"

Cali sighed,

"You can have your steak, just leave me alone."

Colorado nodded, looking content, and New Mexico was peering excitedly over his shoulder at the menu. Arizona huffed, but nodded anyway,

"Good."

To avoid suspicion, Cali went to the restroom anyway, just in case.

* * *

When Cali stood up from the table, Oregon instantly headed over to where Washington and Idaho were sitting,

"Why are you two here?"

Idaho felt no shame in yelling out, disrupting the atmosphere,

"I'M HERE TO SEE MY BIG BRO GET LAID!"

Washington swatted her on the head as Oregon turned bright red,

"You idiot, this is a 5-star restaurant!"

Idaho shrugged,

"Well it's true."

A waiter or two stopped for a moment to look at Idaho, but carried on with their jobs after realizing she was harmless.

Oregon was at a loss of words but Washington cut in,

"Listen, I'm just here to make sure that bimbo doesn't do anything she's gonna regret."

"She is not a bimbo!"

Washington rolled her eyes, but Idaho said,

"Don't worry, I came along to make sure Washington doesn't mess anything up."

"Idaho, you little-"

"Now go and woo Cali! Let me know how it turns out!"

Oregon glared at her, clenching his fists,

"I am not going to tell you anything!"

"You're no fun."

* * *

Oregon got back to his seat in time for California to exit the restroom.

She smiled brightly, catching his gaze, and striding across the room,

"Sorry about that."

At that moment, the waiter came back, carrying two glasses of water,

"Are you two ready to order?"

Cali picked up her menu for a quick moment and glanced at it,

"I will have the Caesar salad please."

"And for you, sir?"

"The sea bass please."

The waiter nodded, still writing down their order,

"Alright! I will have that ready for you in a little bit."

The waiter took their menus and one again walked off to another table.

Cali sighed faintly, staring into his rich brown eyes. Oregon looked over his shoulder nervously, checking on his sisters who were watching them intently.

Idaho made a kissy-face, pointing at California, causing Washington to swat her again.

Oregon looked back, saw the dreamy expression on Cali's face, and took another sip of the wine. It really was the best wine he had ever had,

"So how was your trip to Germany?"

"It was uneventful on the most part. Prussia is kinda a pervert, but he's not to bad at Call of Duty."

Ever since he had started to spend so much time with the girl, Oregon found he couldn't wipe the grin off his face whenever she was near. So he sat there, grinning like an idiot, trying to make conversation. It's not that he doesn't like talking to her, it's just Oregon is dreadfully awkward. Luckily for him, California is good with people,

"Did Sacramento get himself into any trouble while I was gone?"

Oregon shook his head,

"Not that I saw. Why? What has he done in the past?"

Cali laughed a bit, recalling the memory,

"Well, one time I came home from a trip and he had devoured half of my pet betta fish."

Oregon's eyes grew wide,

"No way."

"That's what I thought! But apparently Sacramento can pull the lid off my aquarium."

* * *

Arizona tapped his fingers impatiently on the table, frowning. Colorado spread butter on another slice of bread,

"Aw, loosen up Ari! Our big sister is in love, and you need to just accept it."

Arizona didn't look away from Oregon and Cali,

"She is not in love."

New Mexico chuckled,

"She so is. I mean, are you seeing that look on her face?"

He made an exaggerated fainting motion, putting the back of his hand to his forehead and sighing,

"The way his eyes sparkle!"

Colorado clasp his hands together mockingly, mirroring New Mexico's love-struck expression

"His hair, flowing in the wind as we ride off into the sunset on a white horse!"

New Mexico and Colorado faced each other, and they said in unison,

"I am sooooo in love!"

They burst into laughter at the sight of Arizona's rising anger. The fork Arizona was holding was bent in half when he saw Oregon reach out and grab Cali's hand,

"He is dead."

Colorado rolled his eyes,

"For what? Holding her hand? You and I both know that he's done more than that."

The fork was now in two separate pieces,

"Woah Ari, relax! I was just joking!"

New Mexico set his elbows on the table, propping up his head,

"Yeah Ari, really."

Arizona began tapping his foot, trying to suppress the urge to run over and tear Oregon's hand off.

* * *

Washington looked suspiciously at California,

"I still don't trust that blonde."

Idaho smiled, poking her teasingly,

"Jealous?"

Washington sat up straight, glaring at Idaho,

"I am not jealous of the attention Oregon is giving her!"

"No not that. You know, the long, flowing, golden hair, the shimmering blue eyes, the-"

"I get the picture. And no, I'm not."

"Maybe if you keep telling yourself that it'll come true."

Washington looked back over,

"Something just doesn't add up."

Idaho tilted his head,

"What do you mean?"

"That idiot must have some motive to date my brother! I'm just trying to figure it out."

Oregon reached out his hand, taking Cali's in his, causing Idaho to smile honestly,

"Aw, that's so cute!"

"No! Not cute! Evil!"

Idaho suppressed a laugh at the murderous look on Washington's face,

"You crack me up."

Ignoring her sister, Washington continued to study California quizzically. Idaho smirked,

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you had a crush on California."

Washington whipped her head around, eyes burning, teeth clenched,

"I. Am. Not. Crushing. On. That. Moron."

Idaho couldn't help it. She burst out laughing.

* * *

California's ears perked up at the familiar hearty laugh,

"Hold on."

She retracted her hand,

"That sounds oddly familiar."

Cali turned away from Oregon, who was desperately trying to get her attention away from his sister,

"Is that Idaho? And Washington?"

Oregon sighed,

"Yeah. Apparently they followed us in here to-"

Oregon stopped for a second to formulate his words carefully,

"Spy on us."

Cali looked at him for a moment.

_Well, this is it. Say goodbye to your beautiful girlfriend. I can't believe they would do this to me!_

California's tinkling laughter startled him,

"What's so funny?"

Cali gestured past Oregon so he turned around and he saw Arizona, with a small pile of broken silverware next to him, New Mexico, who was laughing at Arizona's angry expression, and Colorado, who was devouring a large steak.

Oregon turned back to California and laughed himself,

"Well, it's official. Our siblings are insane."

Cali nodded in agreement.

The waiter walked up at that moment, carrying two dishes that he set down in front of them,

"Enjoy."

* * *

Cali and Oregon walked down the bustling streets of LA together, holding hands and laughing together. The instant they had finished their food, they had gotten their stuff, paid their bill, and left.

It wasn't clear to either of them where they were going exactly, but neither cared. They wondered on the streets for a while, Cali showing no unease with the high-heels she was sporting, impressing Oregon.

Oregon found himself, once again, stuck with a huge grin on his face. He didn't notice, however, until he heard a loud crash behind him and he finally relaxed his face.

When the two turned around, they saw Washington and Idaho, both sprawled out on the pavement, laid over the other, scrambling to get back on their feet.

Cali was genuinely worried, but Oregon was furious. He stormed over to his sisters, picking them up by the collar of their shirts,

"I thought you two would leave me alone!"

Idaho winked at Cali,

"Don't worry, I was just getting Washington to leave. You two can have your alone time."

California's eyes went wide, her heart skipping a beat, and Oregon turned bright red. Washington swatted Idaho on the arm for what seemed like the hundredth time,

"Idaho! She's right there!"

Oregon let go of their collars, walked back to California, and pulled her away from his bickering sisters by the elbow.

* * *

They walked for a while, completely lost, until they found a taxi. He held the door open for his date, then got in on the other side.

As they drove along, Oregon found himself mesmerized by the flickering lights outside illuminating her face. Cali looked back at him pensively, her mouth slightly open, her hands near his own.

Knowing that Oregon would not make the first move, she leaned forward, pecking him lightly on the cheek, grabbing his hand. When she pulled back, the blush on Oregon's face was unmistakable.

She shifted over so her head was leaning on his shoulder,

"Thank you for dinner."

"Anytime."

Cali, still holding his hand, pressed her leg to his, getting comfortable, and Oregon could not be happier.

* * *

The taxi pulled up about a block away from California's house, letting them out, then driving away again.

Cali shivered slightly, cold in the chilly air, and Oregon noticed instantly. Using America's advice on manners, he took off his own jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

She looped her arm into his, and together they strode down the street. Neither talked, there was no need. They simply basked in the moonlight, strolling casually down the sidewalk.

When they got to her door, she wasted no time in diving towards Oregon, wrapping him in a tight embrace and pressing her warm lips onto his. She fumbled with the keys, trying to continue to unlock the door and kiss Oregon at the same time.

He put his hands on her hips, waiting patiently for her to let the two of them in, sucking at her neck gently.

She threw the door open, dragging him in after her, throwing him down on the couch.

Not being able to wait another minute, she put her legs on either side of his, hungrily attacking his lips.

* * *

Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado all witnessed the scene outside the door, and all but one were perfectly fine with leaving the two alone. The three peeked into the living room through the window,

"I don't want to see this, let's just leave!"

Colorado tried to pull Arizona away from the window, but he stayed put,

"How can I get in there, I need a plan!"

Oregon looked at the window at that moment, and almost had a heart-attack when he saw the three of them. He was just praying that they would kill him quickly, but Colorado and New Mexico both gave him the thumbs-up, and then forcibly dragged away Arizona, who was flailing wildly,

_I so owe those guys._

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Cali leaned back so she was sitting on his lap, and looked at him skeptically. Oregon turned back to her, and, knowing he could never be able to explain what just happened, put his hands on the back of her neck, pulling her back in for another kiss,

_Absolutely nothing._

* * *

Woo! Longish chapter, and it's not 10 pm! Go me! So, I've been writing up an AU recently, a 2p! one, and I was wondering if that would be something you guys are interested in. I would post it separately, and it would be updated occasionally. My war AU is still in progress, I apologize to all of you who went out and read it, expecting it to be updated soon, I only have so much free time! Anyways, please review! Leave me your suggestions for further chapters, and see you next time!


	54. Bama is Bashful

Tennessee winked at Alabama from across the table. Alabama turned bright red, immediately looking down.

Cali, from across the street, focused her binoculars. She had promised not to butt into other people's business, but she also had promised to stop prank calling Mississippi and we all know how well that went.

Liechtenstein sat next to her at the window in the library, holding a pair of her own binoculars,

"Um, Cali? What are we doing again?"

Cali didn't look away from the coffee shop where Alabama and Tennessee were sitting,

"We're spying on Alabama and Tennessee."

Lili nodded,

"Yes, but why?"

Cali set down the binoculars, sighing,

"Alabama is so fresh to the dating scene, I figured I would keep watch on her, and then offer my own advice."

Lili shrugged, apparently perfectly fine with this explanation.

* * *

"So, how are you?"

Tennessee laughed,

"That's the fourth time you've asked. I'm good."

Alabama looked away, stirring her half empty cup.

* * *

California groaned,

"What's wrong with that girl? Look him in the eye, and tell him you think he's hot!"

"Cali, not everyone can be so upfront about that sort of thing."

Cali sighed,

"Yeah, I know Lili, but still!"

* * *

Alabama chewed her lip. She'd asked Tennessee to have coffee a week ago, and she thought that she'd be perfectly fine, but now that he's here she can't think of anything to say.

"So, um, how's Nashville?"

Tennessee cocked his head,

"My horse, or the actual city, because both are good."

Alabama laughed a bit,

"Your horse, but it's good that the city is doing well too."

* * *

"You can do it, Alabama! Just ask him to go out with you!"

Lili smiled at Cali's anxiousness,

"But they are out already."

"They're out, but they're not out out."

"I don't understand."

California sighed and set down her binoculars,

"Okay, so the way this works is two people can go out to a restaurant or over to each others house and it's not a date. It can be a date, but it's not always official."

Lili nodded, even though she didn't really understand, and Cali continued,

"So, all Alabama has to do is muster up the courage for an hour or so and talk to him. That's all, just talk."

She put the binoculars back to her eyes,

"How hard is that?"

She saw Alabama sitting at the table, stirring her coffee again, and sighed,

"Apparently, very hard."

* * *

"Well, I was talking to Georgia the other day,"

Alabama was actually trying to pay attention to Tennessee's stories, but she kept getting lost in his hazel eyes,

"Bama?"

Alabama stopped stirring her drink so suddenly, it toppled over, spilling all over the table, onto Tennessee's lap,

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

She picked up a few napkins and handed them to Tennessee, who was smiling regardless of the huge stain on his shirt,

"It's fine, Bama! It was an accident."

He wiped off as much of her coffee that he could, still smiling, while Alabama muttered under her breath,

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, oh god,"

Tennessee couldn't help chuckling at how mortified Alabama was over a little spill,

"It's fine Bama! I can just go back home and change."

Tennessee stood, still holding the napkin in his hand, and began to walk away from the table.

Alabama sat in her seat, feeling dejected, and when Tennessee noticed she wasn't getting up, he turned to her and said,

"Well, are you coming?"

Alabama flushed, feeling stunned and relieved at the same time,

"Sure, I'll be right there."

While Tennessee continued to his car, Alabama stood up and followed him out.

* * *

"Alabama, you idiot! What are you doing!"

Lili gasped as the coffee spilled all over the table, and Cali shouted,

"You'll ruin everything!"

The librarian of the library they were in, poked her head around one of the shelves and shushed them.

Lili apologized, but Cali failed to even notice the librarian was even there,

"Wait, where are they going?"

Lili picked her binoculars back up,

"Looks like they're going to his car."

Cali picked up her purse, dropping her binoculars in, and began to walk out,

"Wait, Cali! Where are you going?"

"To follow them, duh."

* * *

Tennessee had driven them to his house, all the time casting glances at Alabama, who was cowering in the seat next to him. His house was simple, with a white picket fence and a large backyard. Alabama followed him inside,

"I'll be right back, I gotta go change. Make yourself comfortable."

While he was upstairs putting on a new shirt, Alabama looked around at his house. He had all sorts of old signs and photographs on the wall and on shelves. Aged stuff he had obviously kept from his youth. Rusty hunting rifles, dusty lassos and the such.

As she admired one of his mining hats, when she backed up into a vase, which crashed to the floor, shattering into a million pieces.

Tennessee had just picked out a shirt when he heard the huge clatter. Worried that Alabama was hurt, he dropped the shirt and bolted downstairs.

When he saw the huge pile of broken porcelain, he wasted no time in getting out a dust pan and broom. Working quickly, he swept up all the pieces and threw them out. He was never really that handy, and reassembling the vase was out of the question,

"It's alright, I never really liked that ol' vase anyway. You okay, Bama?"

Alabama was transfixed, ogling the boy's tanned and muscular torso,

"Bama?"

He followed her eyes,

"Oh! Sorry, I forgot all about that. I'll go put one on now."

"No!"

Both of them were surprised by her outburst,

"I mean,"

She stuttered, trying to find the right words,

"I don't really mind."

Tennessee smiled, flattered and pleased by her response. He was rather fond of the girl, and would hate to scare her away by being to upfront or anything like that,

"I-I'm sorry, that was creepy."

She closed her eyes, and walked past him. She was embarrassed, with butterflies in her stomach, and she felt like her heart was going to burst.

_His skin looked so soft, I want to touch it and-no, Alabama, get a hold of yourself!_

She continued to the door, hoping to get rid of the anxious feelings in her gut,

"Bama, wait!"

She turned around, and came face to face with the shirtless boy. Her heart fluttered again as she looked into his hazel eyes,

"Yes?"

She said it faintly, distracted by his sheepish expression,

"Do you have to leave?"

"Well, I-"

"Because I would like it if you stayed."

They were now both blushing, just looking into the others eyes,

"I suppose I could-"

"OH JUST KISS ALREADY! THE SEXUAL TENSION IS SO THICK I COULD CUT IT WITH A KNIFE!"

Alabama and Tennessee both looked over to where the sound had come from, and out the window, they saw California, holding binoculars and laughing her head off,

"Don't let me interrupt! C'mon Tenny, she's dying for a kiss!"

Their blushes both burned their faces as she continued laughing. Alabama shouted to her,

"California, I am going to kill you!"

Tennessee nudged her,

"Get in line."

Lili tried to pull her away from the increasingly angered states, but to no avail. Cali took a moment to stop laughing and told them,

"Funny story, it just so happened at you both had asked me for advice about this."

Alabama and Tennessee exchanged looks,

"Yeah, it's true! Just ask him."

* * *

(A few weeks ago)

"Hey, California?"

Cali tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear,

"What's up Tenny?"

"Do you have to call me that?"

Cali shrugged,

"I have a nickname for practically everyone, you might as well get used to it."

He was about to interject further, but he remembered why he initially talked to her in the first place,

"So, I was wondering if you had any advice on talking to girls."

Cali raised her eyebrows,

"Oh, so is there a special lady friend?"

"No, well, not yet anyway."

"So who is it? Tell me, tell me, tell me-"

"It's Alabama."

Cali squealed.

_This is so perfect! Alabama and Tenny, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g._

"Cali?"

"Oh, right, sorry. Well, I would suggest simply talking to other girls you're comfortable around to start. And give yourself more credit, you're a smooth-talker."

Tennessee smiled,

"You think so?"

"I know so. You'd give politicians a run for their money."

"Thanks for your advice."

"Don't hesitate to ask for more."

* * *

"So am I like the 'Official Love Expert' in the country or something? I should start charging people."

Alabama looked over at Tennessee's more recently polished rifle,

"I wouldn't be thinking you would get away with this if I were you."

"What do you mean-SHIT SHE HAS A GUN!"

She and Lili quickly fled from the house, Alabama waving the gun menacingly around in the air,

"And stay out!"

She turned back to Tennessee,

"Now, where were we?"

* * *

Texas was sitting with New York and California, gloating about how wonderful his state was, when York decided to interject,

"What's so great about dumb ol' Texas?"

Texas stopped talking, and swiveled his head around to glare at York,

"What did you say?"

York looked at him, a bit scared by Texas's angry expression,

"Texas is dumb?"

"Don't you dare take the name of Texas in vain!"

Cali sat up a little straighter,

"You mean we can't say anything bad about dumb ol' Texas?"

"No! You can't!"

Texas was really angry now, but York continued on,

"Oh, then can we say people from Texas are dumb?"

"No! You can't say nothing about Texas!"

Cali and York smiled deviously at each other, and Cali said mockingly,

"Oooh, so we shouldn't say anything bad about Texas?"

She stretched out the word Texas jokingly, making a goofy face as she said it. Texas clenched his fists,

"I'm warning you, California!"

"Look Yorkie, I'm Texas!"

She stood up from the table, grabbing her own belt loops, and began to walk bowlegged around in a circle. She said in a blatantly obviously bad Southern accent,

"Howdy ya'll!"

York then joined in, walking with her,

"I'm Texas too! Get a dog little logy!"

They continued to say 'howdy ya'll!' as they walked, causing Texas to boil with rage,

"Ya'll best cut it out!"

Cali began to sing, still with a southern twang,

"The stars at night, are dull and dim, whenever they have to be over dumb ol' stupid Texas!"

She went over and grabbed Texas's hat, placing it on her head,

"Hey Yorkie, what am I now?"

York had to stifle his laughter,

"Um, stupid?"

"No, I'm Texas!"

"What's the difference?!"

They both cracked up laughing, thoroughly pissing off the southern state,

"Ya'll best apologize, or I'm gonna beat on you like ugly on an ape!"

Cali stopped laughing for a minute, trying to figure out what he said,

"It's like you're speaking another language! Ugly on an ape? What does that even mean?"

York saw the murderous look on Texas's face,

"Uh, Cali? I think it's best we run."

"Good plan."

* * *

Credit to that one spongebob episode for the last bit, I couldn't help myself when I saw it. Geez it's late, this chapter is for that one person who requested more AL/TN, so here you go! Goodnight, or good morning, or whatever, and as always, see you next time!


	55. Shakes and Spring Break

California held her drink in her hand and walked over to the table where New York and Texas were sitting,

"So why are you guys here again?"

York set down his coffee mug on the table,

"Well, we-"

He stopped as the ground began to roll underneath them. Texas and New York shrieked, Texas diving under the table, holding onto the table legs, and York standing up and dashing to the doorway.

The shaking only lasted a few seconds, only a book or two falling off a shelf. Cali raised an eyebrow, and said nonchalantly

"You guys okay?"

Texas was still under the table, still clutching the wood like his life depended on it,

"Cali! Get under here!"

"Why?"

"The ground was shaking!"

"Yeah it's called an earthquake."

York pressed his hands to the door frame,

"How can you be so calm? Someone could've died!"

Cali began to laugh at their panicked expressions, and Texas glared at her,

"We're serious!"

"And that's what's so funny!"

York raised an eyebrow,

"How is that funny!?"

"Well, for starters, this house has been reinforced and bolted down, so nothing is gonna fall. Also, that was a 4.4 at the least, a piece of cake."

York looked around nervously,

"A 4.4! Wow, that's awful!"

Cali looked at him curiously,

"Have you even heard of The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906?"

Texas nodded,

"Well, of course we have."

"That was a 8.3."

York's eyes went wide,

"An 8.3!"

She nodded,

"That was a deadly one. Well not the shaking, the fires that followed."

Texas peeked out from under the table,

"Wait, how many died?"

"3,000."

The room was silent until Cali continued,

"Not to mention my back completely split open. Are you sure I've never told you guys this?"

"I'm pretty sure I would've remembered if you did."

Cali rolled her eyes,

"You guys can relax now. Any aftershocks will be like, 2.3 or less."

Texas and York didn't move,

"Fine, stay there, see if I care."

The ground shakes briefly, causing both boys to tense up and Texas to yelp. Cali sighed,

"Oh for Pete's sake, this is nothing. There was a 5.3 last week, and everyone was fine, nothing happened!"

York refused to leave the doorway, he just kept muttering to himself,

"In case of emergency, get into a doorway, the most secure part of the house."

Cali looked at them,

"If all I had to do was tell you guys about earthquakes and you'd freak out, I would've told you a long time ago."

Texas narrowed his eyes at the girl,

"I'm not freaking out!"

"Yes you are, you're hiding under my table!"

"I'm not hiding I'm waiting for a huge shake!"

"Yeah well you'll be waiting for a long time. I'll let you know when I get that 10.5 I'm due for."

York and Texas exchanged panicked looks, causing Cali to suppress a laugh,

"Come on, I was kidding! Where are you going?! I thought you had important business!"

* * *

With the sun bearing down on the beach, and a cool drink in her hand, California relaxed on her towel on the sand. She pulled down her sunglasses so they covered her eyes, and laid down.

It was finally spring break. Or as California calls it, the week there's a lot of out of state license plates.

She had promised herself this one week to just lay back and relax. That was the plan for the week ahead of her.

* * *

After a half an hour of lounging, the peace and quiet of the crashing waves was interrupted,

"SPRING BREAK!"

This was followed by a chorus of cheers as a group of around 5 college kids trampled the sand.

California sat up, groaning unhappily at the thought of these rowdy kids messing up her alone time. It's not that she dislikes tourists, she gets a lot of money from them, it's the drunk ones that bother her during her vacations that she would like to kick out.

_If only you had to pass a personality test when you crossed the state line. _

She tried to relax again, but they were playing music obnoxiously loud and she couldn't block it out. Fed up, she shouted at them,

"THIS IS PRIVATE PROPERTY!"

The group stopped partying for a moment, and looked over at her, confused. Cali groaned, lying back down, trying to ignore them again.

One of the girls, walked over to her,

"I'm sorry, we thought this was public, is this your beach?"

Cali looked at the girl, lowering her sunglasses. The girl was in a bikini as well, and her hair was short and blonde,

"Yes, this is my strip of beach. I don't mind you being here, just keep it down please."

The girl nodded and smiled,

"Hey, do you want to join us? You look pretty lonely over here."

Cali was surprised by this. Citizens have not really interacted with her lately and she was expecting a quiet week by herself,

"Well, why not?"

She stood up, and followed the girl back over to the group,

"My name's Jessica, by the way."

"Angel. Angel Jones."

California sat in the circle with the rest of them, and one of the boys there said to her,

"So are you from around here?"

"Yeah."

She looked over her shoulder, and pointed at a beach house not to far from where they were sitting,

"That's mine."

The boy let out a low whistle,

"You live there all by yourself?"

Cali rolled her eyes,

"If you're asking if I have a boyfriend, yes I do."

The girls all laughed at her comment, and Cali smiled smugly. There were two boys and three girls, not counting California. She asked them,

"So where are you all from?"

Jessica said,

"I'm from Michigan."

Cali tilted her head,

"Michigan? Like the state?"

"Yes, why?"

"But you're so nice!"

Jessica raised an eyebrow,

"I still don't understa-"

"I have a frien- acquaintance that lives there, and she's a bitch."

Jessica was still confused, but the girl next to her, who had brown curly hair and a sweatshirt on, said,

"My name is Robin, and I'm from Ohio. And this is Darin, also Ohio. We go to college together there."

Robin gestured to the boy next to her, who had black hair and soft blue eyes. Then the last girl, who had a bob cut with black hair, spoke up,

"I'm Trisha! I came here from Arizona! It's so cool to finally see the Pacific!"

Cali laughed, reminding herself to tell Arizona about this later,

"It's pretty great here."

Robin nodded,

"I've never been before. It's always so sunny."

Darin chuckled,

"What state do you think you're in?"

Cali laughed and Darin turned to her,

"My cousins live out here, so I've visited before."

Cali smiled

"I've lived here all my life, I couldn't imagine ever leaving."

Jessica looked at her curiously,

"Ever? You want to stay here all your life?"

Cali nodded, and Jessica continued,

"Don't you want to see the world?"

"Trust me, I've seen it more than I would like. It's not all you imagine it to be."

Trisha asked her,

"So you travel a lot?"

"Yeah, it's my job."

Darin looked at her curiously,

"What do you do?"

"I'm a politician."

Everyone stared at her, very confused, and Darin told her,

"You don't look like a politician."

"I get that a lot."

Robin chuckled,

"Well, I'm getting my degree in marine biology, and Darin is getting his degree in geology."

Jessica spoke up,

"I'm wanna be an animator."

"I have some friends at Disney and Pixar that would love to hear that."

Jessica's eyes got big, and she gasped,

"You have friends at Disney and Pixar?!"

Cali chuckled,

"Just a few. Me and John Lasseter go way back."

Robin rolled her eyes,

"Yeah right, you know John Lasseter."

Darin whispered to Robin,

"Who's John Lasseter?"

Robin turned to him,

"He's the chief creative director at Pixar! How do you not know that?!"

Cali laughed. She knew they were never going to believe her, but it was pretty funny to see their reactions. The last boy had hair that was obviously gelled up, and he had this charmingly goofy grin on his face,

"I'm Ethan, and I come from Oregon."

Cali smiled at him,

"I love Oregon."

Ethan nodded, grinning widely,

"It's an incredible state."

_You don't even know the half of it. Oh, if only I could tell them._

Trisha said to her,

"Hey, do you surf?"

Cali's eyes widened,

"Do I surf? Do I surf! Yes, yes I surf!"

She leaped up, waking back to her towel where her surfboard was laying, muttering under her breath,

"Do I surf, give me a break."

She picked up her board, turning back to the group,

"Well? Are you coming?"

The boys were the only ones who wanted to try, both of them claiming they had the most experience. Cali said to them,

"If you can beat me, I will be very impressed."

Ethan and Darin both rented boards from a shop a little ways away, and then followed her into the water. Cali hopped onto her board when the water got too deep, and began paddling out. She spotted a brewing wave a little ways away, and began to swim towards it.

It was a great wave, she hopped up onto her feet, and rode it all the way to shore. There were cheers from the girls back on the beach, causing Cali to take a small bow,

"I've been in the ocean as long as I can remember."

Back out in the water, Darin tried to get up onto his feet, but fell over. Ethan laughed at him, as his board was swept away and he tried to swim after it. Cali had gotten back out at this point, saying to Darin,

"I'll help you, if you want."

He chuckled, accepting her help readily. She gave him some tips, and soon he could stand up. It wasn't with the same finesse or grace that Cali had, but it was enough to balance him.

Ethan showed off a bit, maneuvering the board impressively, and not falling once. Cali cheered him on, causing him to blush very faintly and smile in her direction when she wasn't looking.

* * *

It wasn't very long before the sun began to set. Cali walked back onto shore, her skin glimmering with salt water, and set her board down. She rejoined Robin, Trisha, and Jessica, and soon the boys sat down too. Darin said to Cali,

"You are one hell of a surfer."

Cali smiled brightly,

"Years of practice."

_And I mean years._

Ethan nodded,

"I'll bet. I don't think I'll ever be that good."

Cali shrugged,

"I don't know, you're not too shabby. A little work on your form, and I'll have some competition."

She said to the group,

"You know, I've been wondering, how did all of you meet? I mean, Michigan, Ohio, Arizona, and Oregon aren't exactly neighbors."

Robin was the one who answered her,

"We all met at Comic Con. After a quick exchange of emails, we made plans to meet up again."

Cali's eyes got wide,

"I love Comic Con! I go every year."

Trisha frowned,

"I wish I could afford that."

Cali shrugged,

"I actually know a guy who gets me in for free."

Jessica looked jealous,

"Who don't you know? I mean, Disney, Pixar, Comic Con, what's next?"

"How about the Kardashians?"

Darin threw his hands up in the air,

"It's official, she knows everyone."

Trisha nodded,

"Glad we met you, you might be a useful resource one day."

Cali laughed, glad she had met them too.

* * *

The conversation wore on, the students talking about their colleges and their families, and eventually they asked California about hers,

"Oh, I have five little brothers and an adopted sister."

Trisha looked at her, impressed once again,

"Seven kids, your parents must have had one hell of a time with that."

"Actually, it was mostly me taking care of them. Our parents were always pretty busy."

She looked at the sun, sighing in disappointment when she realized she would have to go home soon. She stood, brushing the sand off her legs, and said to them,

"It's been great talking to you, but I have to go."

They all protested, but she walked over to her towel, gathering her stuff, and then shouted to them as she walked away,

"You know where to find me."

* * *

Yes, my spring break did start this week, so you are going to be getting a week of spring break related stories! And now prepare yourself for a super long rant thing!

So, I got a Guest comment the other day, and I figured I might as well address it here since I can't reply privately. I'm going to copy and paste the comment here,

":I hate the fact that the OC is blonde with blue eyes and freckles. I'm not asking for a total Mexican or anything but blonde and blue eyes is rare here in California. It just doesn't fit."

(Chapter 1)

-Guest

Look, I'm flattered that you have read my story, I love each and everyone of you that has, but I would like to explain my OC to you.

First of all, she's blonde because she's the golden state. Gold as in yellow/blonde. Her hair has changed over time, as you may find out as you continue your journey with my very developed story. She used to have brown hair, when she was Alta California, and it grew lighter over time. Also, blonde hair is a very real stereotype for Californians. I'm a resident of California, so I know that not all the people here match, but it's a stereotype! They're not supposed to be accurate! Does every American go around acting like Alfred? No, no they do not!

Second, the blue eyes are for three reasons. The Pacific Ocean, which is right next to her, the stereotype again, and she inherited it from America, partly. The gold flecks in them are left over from the gold rush, but you didn't complain about that, so good work. You said blue eyes and blonde hair was rare here, but I actually know a lot of blue-eyed, blonde Californians that I modeled my OC after.

Third, when did I say she has freckles? Because I didn't. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I simply stated she had a sun kissed tan, and that's it. No freckles. Not a single one.

Lastly, I could have made her more Mexican, but I didn't. You know why? California is the most diverse state in America, to make her dominantly Mexican would make some sense, but it would be misrepresenting the population, so I resorted to stereotypes. I tried my best to keep her very diverse, but it's hard to do that and create a story revolving around her. I'm not denying any plot holes. I also figured since she lived before the Spanish Empire even reached the New World, she would have some of her own traits as well.

Keep in mind while reading this story, THIS IS MY OC! My opinion about what she should act like and look like! You are more than welcome to go write your own story, it's more fun than you would think. I've read lots of stories about other people's OCs for her. Some she's like a fem!Spain, others where she has a fake tan and dyed hair, and all of them are great. Individuals have different opinions.

One final thing, THIS IS HETALIA, IT'S NOT ALWAYS ACCURATE!

(Sorry for ranting, this just kinda ticked me off.)

Now that I got that off my chest, thank you for reviewing! (Even if it is this sort of criticism) See you next time, my lovelies!


	56. Still Springing and Breaking

California stood on the pier at Seal Beach, looking for Hawaii and Alaska.

They had promised to swing by the beach today, and spend some time with California before going back to Hawaii's place.

Cali sat down on the bench, watching a man and his son fishing by the rail, and smiled to herself.

She had thought about what it would be like to have a family, but then she remembers what chaos it was to raise her 5 brothers, not to mention Hawaii, and disregards the thought. She already has a family, she doesn't need any children.

She spots Hawaii, walking on the wooden planks, holding hands with Alaska, who had shed her winter coat in favor of a light one, her long black hair shimmering in the sun. She was obviously very flustered with the whole "hand-holding thing" and all.

Smiling and standing up, she waves to the two of them. Hawaii spots her and her eyes light up. She dashes over to Cali, letting go of Alaska, and tackles her, not bringing her to the ground, but taking her off balance,

"It's good to see you too!"

Hawaii giggles, and lets go. Her short black hair has a plumeria woven into it, her darkly tanned skin glistening in the afternoon sun. Cali plants a kiss on her forehead,

"Let's go down to my house and then we can go surfing! How does that sound, Alaska?"

Alaska nods at Cali, and she smiles brightly back,

"It's been a while, how have you been?"

Alaska mutters out,

"I'm good, and you?"

Cali laughs, showing all her perfect teeth,

"It's sunny, warm, and bright, just the way I like it!"

"Then you shouldn't come to my place."

Cali rolled her eyes, still smiling,

"Give yourself some credit, you have some incredible nature. It's not a frozen wasteland, but I'm sure you already know that."

Alaska nods politely, and is taken off guard when Hawaii takes her by the hand again, shouting over her shoulder to Cali,

"Last one there's a rotten egg!"

Cali sprints after them, she could have easily beaten them, but decides against it in favor of seeing the bright grin of victory on Hawaii's face.

* * *

Once they had reached her beach house, Hawaii and Alaska out of breath, but California still full of energy, Cali got them both towels and surfboards and Alaska changed into her swimsuit,

"Ready? The swell is looking pretty good right now."

Hawaii squealed excitedly, and Alaska blushed the tiniest bit at how adorable Hawaii was. Cali noticed the blush, and was almost amused to see that Alaska had a possible crush on her sister.

Unlike Arizona, Cali isn't the least bit protective of Hawaii's personal life. She welcomes drama, and thrives on relationships that her movies always provide.

Alaska took a board, holding the large board with ease, and held Hawaii's for her.

As they were walking out of the doorway, Sacramento decided to bare his teeth to Alaska menacingly, and Cali was about to scold him, when Alaska said flatly,

"I eat bears like you for breakfast."

Sacramento decided it best to leave Alaska alone after that.

* * *

The three of them walked to the shore, finding a vacant place on the sand and setting up their umbrella. Cali took off her tank top and shorts, revealing her bright orange bikini, and picked up her board again.

A good portion of the men and women that were around them, turned their attention to California, admiring her body, and not making Cali feel the least bit uncomfortable. After years of being watched by complete strangers, she was completely adjusted to it.

She waded into the ocean, setting her board down on top of the salt water, and waving to Hawaii and Alaska to come in with her,

"Come on, you're not gonna get any waves out there!"

Hawaii put on her best puppy-eyes, and pleaded to Alaska,

"Please? You've gone surfing before."

Alaska bit her lip,

"Not with all these people watching, I'll make a fool out of myself."

Hawaii continued to pout,

"Please oh please oh please oh ple-"

"Okay, fine."

Alaska stood, crossing her arms insecurely across her large chest.

Though she was only 14 or 15 physically, she had developed early, making herself extremely cautious of what she wore. Cali saw her covering herself and frowned, upset that Alaska was ashamed of her body that way.

Hawaii and Alaska made their way after Cali, and soon Hawaii was excitedly paddling out to a wave.

Cali cheered her on as she stood up, Alaska smiling a modest smile as Hawaii waved to them. Cali went after her own wave, executing a few tricks while in the swell, and then rejoining Alaska,

"Are you gonna go after one? That one looks pretty good."

Alaska nodded, and begun paddling after the wave Cali had pointed to. When she turned the board around, the wave scooped her up, carrying her up on the board. For a second, she couldn't move, paralyzed but the thought of failing or falling, but when she sees Hawaii, clapping and laughing, she stands up onto her feet. Alaska decides against doing anything fancy, just riding the wave all the way back to shore.

Once she has caught up with them again, Cali smiles brightly, giving her a thumbs-up,

"Excellent job. I'll let you in on a secret,"

She leans towards Alaska,

"I took Yorkie surfing once, and he wiped out more times than I could count."

Hawaii bursts out into laughter, and Alaska chuckled a bit too, making Cali glad she finally got the shy girl to laugh.

* * *

"All I'm saying is, not enough people realize that I was partly Russian too!"

Alaska tilts her head, looking at California curiously,

"Well, not as much as you of course, but like his control stretched all the way down the coast for a little while. I remember meeting him once, but Spain refused to let me see him again of course. He was scared of Russia taking me away from him, or something. He was pretty paranoid of that sort of thing."

Alaska, Hawaii, and California sat in California's living room, having a conversation as the sun set. Well, it was less a conversation and more California talking to Alaska while she nodded, and Hawaii's head drooped onto her shoulder.

Alaska looked down at the small, sleeping girl that was curled up next to her on the couch, and a small blush formed on her cheeks. Cali, who was sitting in an arm chair across from them, said,

"She's pretty cute, huh?"

Alaska's head snapped back to California, mouth gaping, and eyes wide in shock,

"Well, I-"

"It's okay, I think it's adorable that you have a crush on her."

Alaska turned bright red,

"But I don't-"

Cali raised an eyebrow at her, and crossed her arms, but Alaska said,

"I don't have a crush."

Cali smiled mischievously,

"Ah, so you're in the denial phase."

Alaska tried to protest, but Cali said,

"First it's denial, then confusion, then acceptance, then admittance. Trust me, I know about this sort of thing."

Alaska looked down at the floor, feeling ashamed and embarrassed,

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry?! You're sorry! Well, that was not the reaction I would've liked!"

Cali threw her hands up in the air,

"Don't ever feel sorry for having feelings for another person! You can quote me on that."

She stopped for a moment, studying Alaska's expression carefully,

"Is it that you're gay? Or is it something else."

Alaska stammered out,

"My boss doesn't-"

"So it's the gay thing. Look, you can't let anyone else tell you who you are, that's up to you. I'm pansexual, myself."

Alaska looked at her with her violet eyes,

"But you legalized it."

Cali shrugged,

"Yeah, and so has Hawaii."

Alaska turns red at the mention of Hawaii again, and Cali says as she stands up,

"I'm going to bed. Make yourself at home, the guest room is down the hall."

* * *

California sat with a coffee in her hands, sitting at the small table outside the cafe, watching as people passed by. Suddenly, someone sits down at the table across from her, and to her surprise, it's none other than France,

"Bonjour, ma chérie!"

Cali turns to him, her eyes wide, and a pleasant smile on her face,

"France! To what do I owe this honor?"

He smiles at her mischievously,

"I had heard that Angleterre was in the area, so I decided to follow him! I absolutely love to bother him."

Cali laughed,

"Well, now I know where Nebraska gets annoying part."

France scanned the streets,

"Have you seen him? I think London is with him, now that I think of it."

Cali stopped smiling,

"London too?"

France frowned as well when he saw her,

"Is there something wrong, Californie?"

Cali shrugged,

"No, it's nothing. Also, is 'Californie' my name in French?"

France nodded, back to his smiling self,

"Your name is beautiful already, but in my language it's even better."

She sipped her coffee,

"Well, I haven't seen him. It's a pretty large state, he could be anywhere."

France pouted,

"Now what am I supposed to do?"

"You could go to Napa Valley."

France looked at her curiously,

"Napa Valley?"

She nodded,

"Home of the best wine in the country."

France's face lit up with excitement,

"Wine, you say?"

Cali smiled,

"It's kinda my thing. You know, 'California, land of honey, fruit, and wine'."

France laughed his musical laugh,

"Perhaps I should visit more often."

A group of scarcely dressed girls walked by them, all giggling, one of them waving flirtatiously at France,

"Oh, I am definitely visiting more often."

Cali laughed,

"If you like that, you should see the beaches."

France looked at her, scanning her from up and down,

"I would prefer to see y-"

"I'm sure America would just love that. Not to mention my boyfriend."

France, dismissing the comment about America, perked up excitedly,

"Boyfriend? Oh, so that's why you've been so smiley!"

Taking another sip of her coffee, Cali couldn't help but smile. France said to her, like a teenage girl gossiping,

"So who's the lucky guy? Is it that Texas?"

Cali sighed,

"No, it's Oregon, actually."

France looked confused, so she explained,

"He's the state right above mine, here's a picture."

She pulled out her phone, and showed him a picture of her and Oregon,

"Ma chérie, oh you could do so much better!"

"I'm sure he'd love to hear that."

"No, I'm serious!"

Cali put her phone away,

"You of all people should know that love isn't about looks."

France pondered this for a moment, and California continued,

"Besides, are you blind? He's gorgeous! His brown hair, and rich chocolate eyes, and he gets so cute when he's flustered, and-"

"And in bed?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

France smiled at her,

"If he makes you happy, then that's all that matters."

Cali was pleased with this answer, but then she spotted England across the street,

"Look, there he is!"

France turned around, and stood when he saw him,

"Thank you for the chat, ma chérie, but there are anglais to annoy!"

He walked away from the table, and Cali gave him a little wave as he walked away. The loud yelling she heard a few seconds from across the street later needed no explanation.

* * *

I finally got Alaska in there for EverythingMath, and now I will have to write a cute Disneyland episode for A Fan! I don't really have much to say here, but thanks for reviewing and reading, it makes my day! See you next time!


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